The main beneficiaries of Wal-Mart’s low-price policy are the poor, who can now afford products that would be out of their reach but not for Wal-Mart, improving their lives and raising their standard of living, says Bruce Bartlett.
Wal-Mart, all by itself, was responsible for a significant amount of the productivity miracle we have seen in this country over the last decade. In a 2001 report, the McKinsey Global Institute, a respected think tank, concluded that Wal-Mart’s managerial innovations had increased overall productivity by more than all the investments in computers and information technology of recent years:
A new study from the prestigious National Bureau of Economic Research found that Wal-Mart has a substantial effect on reducing the rate of inflation. For example:
Ignoring these beneficial macroeconomic effects, critics focus almost exclusively on the loss of jobs allegedly caused by Wal-Mart. However, academic research by economist Emek Basker of the University of Missouri contradicts this point, finding that Wal-Mart permanently raises local employment, says Bartlett.
Source: Bruce Bartlett, “Wal-Mart is Good for America,” National Center for Policy Analysis, November 22, 2004
