Declaration of Independents — Lecture
This lecture was delivered by Stacy Mitchell at the 26th Annual E.F. Schumacher Lectures in Stockbridge, Massachusetts.… Read More
This lecture was delivered by Stacy Mitchell at the 26th Annual E.F. Schumacher Lectures in Stockbridge, Massachusetts.… Read More
"Our results indicate that the presence of Wal-Mart depresses social capital stocks in local communities," concluded Goetz and Rupasingha in their study, which was published by the American Journal of Agricultural Economics. The implications include both a weakened social fabric and "real costs for communities in the form of reduced economic growth."
The study examined both communities in which new Wal-Mart stores were built in the 1990s and those that already had a Wal-Mart at the beginning of the decade. The study controlled for other variables known to affect social capital stocks in a community, such as educational attainment.