Some potential points to spur discussion:
- Oregon and New Jersey prohibit consumers from pumping their own gas, and it appears
that while this policy might generate more employment, it decreases the number of
employer gas stations in these states by increasing average costs.
- Social capital index has the most ubiquitous positive effect on retail establishment
counts.
- While significant sales tax rate coefficients display mixed signs, higher property
tax rates always lead to a lower probability of zero establishments, supporting previous
findings in the literature that higher public amenities lead to higher retail demand.
For the detailed journal article from which this map derives, see Van Sandt, Anders,
Craig Wesley Carpenter, Scott Loveridge, Rebekka Dudensing, and Linda Niehm. 2021.
“Revealing U.S. Retail Industries’ Functional Hierarchy Through Demand Thresholds.” Under review.
This project was supported by the Agricultural and Food Research Initiative Competitive
Program of the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), award number
2017-67023-26242.
Economic Opportunity Maps Methodology Discussion Guide User's Guide
