A recent working paper from the NBER caught my eye.  The paper estimates the impact of a Walmart moving into a community.  Contrary to public debates on the negative impact of Walmart on housing values, the study finds that a Walmart has a small positive impact on housing values located within a mile of the store.

This follows a long line of scholarship that has examined the impact of Walmart on local communities (mostly local labor markets).  The short summary of these papers is that the results are mixed.

One broader study on the topic looks at the impact of attracting a major (“million dollar”) plant to a local community.  The researchers find that attracting a major investment has a positive impact on local earnings, property values, and no negative impact on the state’s fiscal health.

One potential conclusion from these studies is that countries, states, or cities could use targeted investment incentives in ways that have economic benefits to their communities.

I’m personally skeptical of the effectiveness of incentive programs to attract firms and worry about giving politicians too much discretion in providing subsidies to business.

But this is sound research that deserves to be part of the academic and public debates.