A new Target store raises its host municipality’s per-acre tax base by about 2.82pc and the nearest town’s by about 5.87pc, whereas Wal-Mart openings have no effect on the tax base, according to a study of dozens of store openings in New Jersey by Donald Vandegrift of The College of New Jersey and John Loyer of Aeropostale. In comparison with deep-discounter Wal-Mart, Target attracts higher-income customers and, thus, more and better retail outlets.

(Source: Journal of Regional Science)

Published in Dawn, Business & Finance weekly, October 12th, 2015

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