Does Wal-Mart Sell Inferior Goods?
Emek Basker
University of Missouri - Department of Economics
Economic Inquiry, Forthcoming
Abstract:
I estimate the aggregate income elasticity of Wal-Mart's and Target's revenues using quarterly data for 1997-2006. I find that Wal-Mart's revenues increase during bad times, whereas Target's revenues decrease, consistent with Wal-Mart selling "inferior goods" in the technical sense of the term. An upper bound on the aggregate income elasticity of demand for Wal-Mart's wares is -0.5.
Number of Pages in PDF File: 16
Keywords: Retail, Wal-Mart, Target, Inferior Goods
JEL Classification: L81, D12
working papers series
Suggested Citation
Basker, Emek, Does Wal-Mart Sell Inferior Goods?. Economic Inquiry, Forthcoming. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1125704 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1125704
