Wal-Mart gets a Mixed Report Card

A recent study done by Global Insight, an economic research firm, looked at the economic impact of the retailer on the US over the past 20 years, during which Wal-Mart has extended to operate a network of more than 3,000 Supercenter’s and discount stores, accounting for around 4.4 per cent of US retail sales.

At a conference on Friday, researchers presented 10 papers that concluded Wal-Mart has lowered consumer prices, but also driven down wages and pushed more employees onto government aid programs.

"They are to be commended for presenting negative research," said Tracy Sefl, spokeswoman for Wal-Mart Watch, one of several groups that have been pushing Wal-Mart to improve wages and benefits.

Wal-Mart causes wages to fall for workers in towns where it operates, depresses pay for unskilled laborers and increases Medicaid costs, according to economists.

The conference, billed as "An In-Depth Look at Wal-Mart and Society," is part of the company’s campaign to address criticism of the wages, health care benefits, and workplace policies for its 1.2 million employees. The event signified "the change we are undergoing as a corporation, trying to be more transparent as a company," Wal-Mart spokesman Ray Bracy said in opening remarks.

The savings to consumers, which the company says amount to $895 per person, results from "the efficiencies Wal-Mart has fostered in the retail sector," Global Insight said in a statement.

The study reached its conclusion by saying that the period Wal-Mart (Research) was expanding coincided with a drop in some price categories measured in the Consumer Price Index.

"Consumers earned less in nominal dollars, but their income bought them more in the economy with Wal-Mart because of real disposable income gains," the study said.

A Wal-Mart critic didn’t dispute the numbers in the study, but said they didn’t represent the entire picture as the company also puts small stores out of business and got billions of dollars in taxpayer subsidies.