Walmart

=== Effects on jobs ===
A 2022 literature review concludes that "there is no consensus on the impact of Walmart on local employment, but most studies on the topic point to a modest increase in retail employment".<ref name="Volpe"/> For example, studies at the [[University of Missouri]] found that a new store increases net retail employment in the county by 100 jobs in the short term, half of which disappear over five years as other retail establishments close.<ref>{{cite web |author = Basker, Emek |year = 2002 |url = http://econwpa.wustl.edu/eps/lab/papers/0303/0303002.pdf |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20050430063233/http://econwpa.wustl.edu/eps/lab/papers/0303/0303002.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date = April 30, 2005 |title = Job Creation or Destruction? Labor-Market Effects of Wal-Mart Expansion |publisher = [[University of Missouri]] |access-date = August 4, 2006 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Basker |first1=Emek |title=Job Creation or Destruction? Labor Market Effects of Wal-Mart Expansion |journal=Review of Economics and Statistics |date=2005 |volume=87 |issue=1 |pages=174–183 |doi=10.1162/0034653053327568|s2cid=207590258 }}</ref> Similarly, a net increase in employment (55 jobs) was found in a study of West Virginia counties between 1989 and 1998.<ref name="Hicks">{{cite journal |last1=Hicks |first1=Michael J. |last2=Wilburn |first2=Kristy L. |title=The Regional Impact of Wal-Mart Entrance: A Panel Study of the Retail Trade Sector in West Virginia |journal=The Review of Regional Studies |date=December 28, 2001 |volume=31 |issue=3 |pages=305–313 |doi=10.52324/001c.8540 |issn=1553-0892|doi-access=free }}</ref>

Like other chain stores, Walmart tends to hire local employees for low-skilled jobs with low wages and minimal benefits.<ref name="Volpe"/> This may increase employees' reliance on public assistance programs, effectively transferring costs away from employers onto taxpayers.<ref name="Crowley"/> Studies examining aggregate retail wage data from states and counties, before and after the arrival of Walmart, are mixed. Some results, particularly from nonmetropolitan areas in the South and central United States, suggest lowered wages. Other studies have found no effect (e.g. Pennsylvania) or an increase in wages (e.g. Maryland).<ref name="Crowley"/> A 2004 paper by Goetz and Swaminathan suggested that U.S. counties with Walmart stores suffered increased poverty compared with counties without Wal-Marts.<ref name="PSUstudy">{{cite web |author = Goetz, Stephan J. |first2 = Hema |last2 = Swaminathan |date = October 18, 2004 |url = http://aers.psu.edu/research/centers/cecd/research/wal-mart-and-county-wide-poverty/full-study/at_download/file |title = Wal-Mart and County-Wide Poverty |publisher = [[Pennsylvania State University]] |access-date = August 4, 2006 |archive-date = May 25, 2017 |archive-url = https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20170525041946/http://aers.psu.edu/research/centers/cecd/research/wal-mart-and-county-wide-poverty/full-study/at_download/file |url-status = live }}</ref> It is difficult to distinguish the effects of opening a Walmart from other factors, some of which may be related to the decision to open a store. Known as [[Endogeneity (econometrics)|endogeneity bias]], this makes it difficult to determine whether Walmart chooses to establish itself in communities with greater poverty and joblessness, or creates more poverty and joblessness.<ref name="Crowley"/>

Studies of socioeconomic well-being, civic participation, and community welfare suggest that large non-locally owned businesses tend to be centralized and vertically integrated, rely on remote sources and support services, and move money, expertise and power away from local communities. Large externally-oriented businesses tend to be associated with lower local standards of living, greater inequality, and less social and civic participation. This research is not specific to Walmart, but to large businesses in general.<ref name="Crowley"/>

In broader economic terms, the [[Economic Policy Institute]] estimated that between 2001 and 2006 Wal-Mart's trade deficit with China alone represented a loss of nearly 200,000 U.S. jobs. During this period, Wal-Mart was responsible for 9.3% of total U.S. imports from China, increasing the U.S. trade deficit by an estimated $17.1&nbsp;billion. This represents about 200,000 jobs, most of them in the manufacturing sector (133,000).<ref>{{cite web |author = Clark, Robert E. |date = June 26, 2007 |url = http://www.epi.org/content.cfm/ib235 |title = The Wal-Mart effect: Its Chinese imports have displaced nearly 200,000 U.S. jobs (Issue Brief #235) |website = Economic Policy Institute |access-date = August 2, 2008 |archive-date = August 1, 2008 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080801013923/http://www.epi.org/content.cfm/ib235 |url-status = live }}</ref>

A 2014 story in ''[[The Guardian]]'' reported that the Wal-Mart Foundation was boosting its efforts to work with U.S. manufacturers. In February 2014, the Walmart Foundation pledged to support domestic manufacturers by buying {{US$|250&nbsp;billion}} worth of American-made products in the next decade.<ref>{{cite news |author = D G McCullough |url = https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/made-in-the-usa-sustainable-manufacture |title = Is 'made in the USA' really the most sustainable way to manufacture? |work = The Guardian |access-date = April 24, 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150626214945/http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/made-in-the-usa-sustainable-manufacture |archive-date = June 26, 2015}}</ref> Between 2014 and 2017, the Walmart U.S. Manufacturing Innovation Fund gave $10&nbsp;million in grants to research and academic institutions for projects that improve domestic manufacturing.<ref name="Jessica">{{cite news |last1=Lyons Hardcastle |first1=Jessica |title=Walmart Pledges $250B To Revamp the US Manufacturing Industry |url=https://www.environmentalleader.com/2017/01/why-walmarts-250-billion-pledge-will-make-us-manufacturing-more-sustainable/ |access-date=October 18, 2022 |work=Environment + Energy Leader |date=January 24, 2017 |archive-date=October 18, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221018152723/https://www.environmentalleader.com/2017/01/why-walmarts-250-billion-pledge-will-make-us-manufacturing-more-sustainable/ |url-status=live }}</ref> For the 2020 fiscal year, Walmart reported that nearly two-thirds of its merchandise was made, assembled or grown in the United States. As of March 2021, Walmart pledged to buy an additional $350&nbsp;billion worth of American-based items over the next decade.<ref name="Repko">{{cite news |last1=Repko |first1=Melissa |title=Walmart says it will support U.S. manufacturers with $350 billion of added business |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/03/walmart-to-back-us-manufacturers-with-350-billion-of-added-business.html |access-date=October 18, 2022 |work=CNBC |date=March 3, 2021 |language=en |archive-date=October 18, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221018152722/https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/03/walmart-to-back-us-manufacturers-with-350-billion-of-added-business.html |url-status=live }}</ref>