A commonly held but untested belief is that the adoption of modern technology such as computers could be endogenous to labor regulations. We test for this belief using micro data at the store level for the retail sector in India. Our results show a strong positive relationship between the...

A new dataset of 1,948 retail stores in India compiled by the World Bank's Enterprise Surveys shows that 27% of the stores find labor regulations as a problem for their business. Using these data we analyze the effect of labor regulations on employment at the store level. We find that stricter...

Thresholds defined on the level and change in the HHI (Herfindahl-Hirschmann Index) applied to market shares seem to be the main instrument to select notified mergers for investigation in both the EU and US. We question the use of such a selection rule in differentiated products industries. We...

An Internet retailer?s (e-tailer?s) outstanding virtual location enhances the probability of being noticed by potential customers. The notion of a virtual location for e-tailers refers to the analogy to the physical location. In the empirical analysis, an e-tailer?s Internet search engine rank...

The retail sectors in many industrialized countries have experienced a large increase in concentration and the appearance of so-called \retail deserts\, areas of low retail provision. This study addresses the role of international trade in this process. The analysis shows that by raising product...

This paper formalizes an empirically implementable framework for the definition of local antitrust markets in retail markets. This framework rests on a demand model that captures the trade-off between distance and pecuniary cost across alternative shopping destinations within local markets. The...

The New Trade Theory predicts that international trade lowers prices for consumers and expands the choices available to them. This study shows that both predictions may no longer hold once adjustments in the retail sector are taken into account. I present a new model of retailing in general...

This paper studies shopping hour decisions by retail chains and independent competitors. We use a Salop-type model where retailers compete in prices and shopping hours. Our results depend significantly on efficiency differences between retail chain and independent retailer. If the efficiency...

This paper formalizes an empirically implementable framework for the definition of local antitrust markets in retail markets. This framework rests on a demand model that captures the trade-off between distance and pecuniary cost across alternative shopping destinations within local markets. The...

In this document we analyze the evidence of daily seasonality found in the weekly price variations of food, beverages, and tobacco in the Metropolitan Area of Mexico City. Our research is based on the daily price quotes of 2,724 goods, collected by Banco de México for the Consumer Price Index...