Product Market Competition and Human Resource Practices: An Analysis of the Retail Food Sector

31 Pages Posted: 9 May 2005

See all articles by Elizabeth E. Davis

Elizabeth E. Davis

University of Minnesota - Department of Applied Economics

Matthew Freedman

University of California, Irvine - Department of Economics

Julia Lane

Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA); Wagner Graduate School of Public Service

Brian P. McCall

University of Minnesota - Twin Cities - Carlson School of Management

Nicole Nestoriak

Bureau of Labor Statistics

Timothy A. Park

Economic Research Service, USDA

Date Written: March 2005

Abstract

The rise of super-centers and the entry of Wal-Mart into food retailing have dramatically altered the competitive environment in the industry. This paper explores the impact of such changes on the labor market practices of traditional food retailers. We use longitudinal data on workers and firms to construct new measures of compensation and employment, and examine how these measures evolve within and across firms in response to changes in product market structure due to mass merchandiser entry. An additional feature of the analysis is the combination of rich case study knowledge about the retail food industry with the new matched employer-employee data from the Census Bureau.

Keywords: Human Resource Practices, Product Market Competition, WalMart, employer-employee data, retail food

JEL Classification: J310,J400, L100

Suggested Citation

Davis, Elizabeth E. and Freedman, Matthew and Lane, Julia and Lane, Julia and McCall, Brian P. and Nestoriak, Nicole and Park, Timothy A., Product Market Competition and Human Resource Practices: An Analysis of the Retail Food Sector (March 2005). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=717403 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.717403

Elizabeth E. Davis

University of Minnesota - Department of Applied Economics ( email )

1994 Buford Avenue
St. Paul, MN 55108
United States

Matthew Freedman

University of California, Irvine - Department of Economics ( email )

3151 Social Science Plaza
Irvine, CA 92697-5100
United States

Julia Lane (Contact Author)

Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) ( email )

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

HOME PAGE: http://www.iza.org

Wagner Graduate School of Public Service ( email )

The Puck Building
295 Lafayette Street, Second Floor
New York, NY 10012
United States

Brian P. McCall

University of Minnesota - Twin Cities - Carlson School of Management ( email )

19th Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55455
United States

Nicole Nestoriak

Bureau of Labor Statistics ( email )

2 Massachusetts Avenue, NE
Washington, DC 20212
United States

Timothy A. Park

Economic Research Service, USDA ( email )

Washington, DC 22207
United States
(202)694-5446 (Phone)

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