摘要：Using Alabama county data from 1980 and 1990 censuses and store opening dates, this paper presents an econometric study of the impact of the presence of Wal-Mart on black-white income and unemployment differentials. It is posited that Wal-Mart changes the competitive nature of the labor market in a way that is beneficial to blacks. After establishing a list of demographic and economic variables that affect unemployment and income, the impact of a Wal-Mart is tested by using a dummy variable and a cumulative-years variable. Wal-Mart is found to have substantially lowered the relative unemployment rates of blacks in those counties where it is present, but to have had only a limited impact on relative incomes after the influences of other social-economic variables are taken into account.
