Full Citation

Title: Competition, productivity, and survival of grocery stores in the Great Depression

Citation Type: Journal Article

Publication Year: 2018

ISBN:

ISSN: 01677187

DOI: 10.1016/j.ijindorg.2018.04.003

NSFID:

PMCID:

PMID:

Abstract: We study the grocery industry in Washington, DC, during the Great Depression using data from the 1929 Census of Distribution, a 1929–1930 survey by the Federal Trade Commission, and a 1935 business directory. We first document the differences between chains and independents in the Washington, DC, grocery market circa 1929 to better understand chains’ competitive advantages. Second, we study correlates of survival from 1929 to 1935, a period of major contraction and upheaval. We find that more productive stores survived at higher rates, as did stores with greater assortment and lower prices. Presaging the supermarket revolution, combination stores were much more likely to survive to 1935 than other grocery formats.

Url: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167718717301571

Url: https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0167718717301571

User Submitted?: No

Authors: Basker, Emek; Vickers, Chris; Ziebarth, Nicolas L.

Periodical (Full): International Journal of Industrial Organization

Issue:

Volume: 59

Pages: 282-315

Data Collections: IPUMS Health Surveys - NHIS

Topics: Land Use/Urban Organization, Other, Poverty and Welfare

Countries: