Shops and the City: Evidence on Local Externalities and Local Government Policy from Big-Box Bankruptcies

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Shoag, Daniel; Veuger, Stan
• 署名单位: Harvard University; American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
• 刊物名称: REVIEW OF ECONOMICS AND STATISTICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0034-6535
• DOI: 10.1162/rest_a_00703
• 发表日期: 2018-07
• 页码: 440-453
• 关键词: business improvement districts; wal-mart; walmart; time

摘要

We report three findings. First, using evidence from chain bankruptcies and data on 12 million to 18 million establishments per year, we show that large retailers produce significant positive spillovers. Second, local governments respond to the size of these externalities. When a town's boundaries allow it to capture a larger share of retail spillovers, it is more likely to offer retail subsidies. Third, these subsidies partially crowd out private sector mechanisms that also subsidize large retailers, such as shopping malls. These facts provide powerful evidence of the Coase theorem at work and highlight a concern for local development policies even when externalities can be targeted.