While there have been other books on Wal-Mart, none has provided scholarly economic analysis of the impact of this retail giant. "The Local Economic Impact of Wal-Mart" offers significant empirical evidence which highlights important questions. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

Wal-Mart is a controversial subject. Economist Hicks is obviously sympathetic to Wal-Mart and is associated with the vigorously pro-market Mackinac Center. But the book does not read like the typical product of an activist think tank. Instead, the author treats the subject analytically, and respectfully addresses opposing viewpoints. Hicks concentrates on reviewing studies--including his own--of the impact of Wal-Mart on local economies and local government. Because of the nature of the existing data, his approach does not lend itself to addressing some of the most controversial aspects of Wal-Mart, e.g., some of the more egregious employment practices. Also, because the data on Wal-Mart are more suited to local analysis, it does not address in detail Wal-Mart's more macroeconomic impacts. Hicks relies heavily on his own and other scholarly economic analysis. He does an excellent job attempting to simplify complex econometric analysis, but, even so, the material will be inaccessible to the vast majority of undergraduate students. See the related The Wal-Mart Effect, by Charles Fishman (CH, May'06, 43-5366), and Richard Vedder and Wendell Cox's The Wal-Mart Revolution (CH, Sep'07, 45-0395). Summing Up: Recommended. Only comprehensive graduate and research collections. Graduate Students; Researchers/Faculty. Reviewed by M. Perelman. From: Syndetics Solutions, Inc. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

Michael J. Hicks is an Associate Professor of Economics at the Air Force Institute of Technology's Graduate School of Engineering and Management. He is a Research Professor at Marshall University and an Adjunct Scholar at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.