Art Carden

Supersizing Supercenters? The Impact of Wal-Mart Supercenters on Body Mass Index and Obesity

Research attributes much of the rise in obesity to technological progress reducing the cost of food consumption. We examine this hypothesis in the context of Walmart Supercenters, whose advancements in retail logistics have translated to substantial reductions in food prices. Using data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System matched with Walmart Supercenter entry dates and locations, we examine the effects of Supercenters on body mass index (BMI) and obesity. We account for the endogeneity of Walmart Supercenter locations with an instrumental variables approach that exploits the unique geographical pattern of Supercenter expansion around Walmart’s headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas. An additional Supercenter per 100,000 residents increases average BMI by 0.25 units and the obesity rate by 2.4 percentage points. These results imply that the proliferation of Walmart Supercenters explains 11% of the rise in obesity since the late 1980s, but the resulting increase in medical expenditures offsets only a small portion of consumers’ savings from shopping at Supercenters.

Does Wal-Mart reduce social capital?

Social capital has attracted increasing attention in recent years. We use county-level and individual survey data to study how Wal-Mart affects social capital. Estimates using several proxies for social capital—such as club membership, religious activity, time with friends, and other measures—do not support the thesis that “Wal-Mart destroys communities” by reducing social capital. We measure exposure to Wal-Mart two ways: Wal-Marts per 10,000 residents and Wal-Marts per 10,000 residents aggregated over the years since 1979 to capture a more cumulative “Wal-Mart Effect.” We find that the coefficients on Wal-Mart’s presence are statistically insignificant in most specifications.

When is Corruption a Substitute for Economic Freedom

Corruption supposedly reduces economic progress by creating an uncertain contracting environment and by preventing the state from efficiently providing public goods and correcting externalities. However, corruption can be efficiency-enhancing in countries with relatively little economic freedom. Corruption in the military appears to reduce economic growth, while corruption in the educational environment can increase economic growth. Evidence suggests that some types of corruption can increase growth when economic freedom is low.

Inputs and Institutions as Conservative Elements

Ludwig von Mises argued that capital goods were “conservative elements” that constrain future production decisions. Similarly, social capital and institutions also constrain future production decisions. These insights are applied to the institutional transformation of the post-Reconstruction American South. It is argued that the structure of social capital that developed in the South was inappropriate to the formal institutions that emerged as a result of the Civil War and Reconstruction. The tensions between institutions and social capital are examined in the context of racist lynching.

Why are Some Places Rich While Others are Poor? The Institutional Necessity of Economic Freedom

We survey perspectives on the economic differences between countries and argue that economic freedom is the key to prosperity. We close by outlining the policy implications. Specifically, removing obstacles to the exercise of economic freedom is an important step towards prosperity. Copyright (c) 2010 The Authors. Journal compilation (c) Institute of Economic Affairs 2010. Published by Blackwell Publishing, Oxford.

Competing with Costco and Sam's Club: Warehouse Club Entry and Grocery Prices

Research shows that grocery stores reduce prices to compete with Walmart Supercenters. This study finds evidence that the competitive effects of two other big box retailers – Costco and Walmart-owned Sams Club – are quite different. Using city-level panel grocery price data matched with a unique data set on Walmart and warehouse club locations, we find that Costco entry is associated with higher grocery prices at incumbent retailers, and that the effect is strongest in cities with small populations and high grocery store densities. This is consistent with incumbents competing with Costco along non-price dimensions such as product quality or quality of the shopping experience. We find no evidence that Sam’s Club entry affects grocery stores’ prices, consistent with Sam’s Club’s focus on small businesses instead of consumers.

Beliefs, Bias, and Regime Uncertainty after Hurricane Katrina

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between beliefs and economic policy in the context of gasoline prices following Hurricane Katrina. Design/methodology/approach - The paper applies three contributions – by North, Caplan and Higgs – to the question of gasoline pricing policy; and surveys public opinion regarding interference with prices. Findings - The paper identifies evidence of “anti-market bias” in polling data, press releases, and legislation, and argues that the uncertainty emanating from statutes restricting “price gouging” may reduce investment in the provision of “necessary goods and services” after natural disasters. Originality/value - The paper is of value in offering evidence of anti-market and anti-foreign bias among what might be called political first responders to Hurricane Katrina, and posits the view that interference with prices compounded the shortages facing the Gulf coast or any other disaster-stricken area.

Economic freedom and social capital

This article brings together two growing literatures, social capital and economic freedom, to examine whether economic freedom contributes to social capital. More specifically, using US state-level data from 1986 to 2004 and both OLS and System GMM dynamic panel estimation, we find that there is no clear trade-off between economic freedom and either the level or growth of social capital.

Sound and Fury: Rhetoric and Rebound after Katrina

Free markets in capital and labor are essential to rapid recovery from natural disaster. Political and rhetorical responses to Hurricane Katrina included denunciation of price gougers in the market for gasoline; the arbitrariness associated with anti-price gouging legislation may create uncertainty that reduces the attractiveness of the investment climate.

TIME UNDER AUTOCRATIC RULE AND ECONOMIC GROWTH

We investigate how the length of time a countrys regime was autocratic between 1920 and 2000 is correlated with economic growth and per capita income. We find that the longer a country was within an autocracy, the lower is the countrys economic performance, even after controlling for other factors. We also find the length of time a country is not autocratic is positively related to growth and income. We claim this evidence is consistent with the thesis that one reason why some countries have had difficulty adjusting to life after autocracy is that the human and social capital necessary to make markets “work” eroded under autocratic regimes and take time to develop afterward.