Clustering or scattering: the underlying reason for regulating distance among retail outlets

Joan-Ramon Borrell and Laura Fernández-Villadangos ()
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Laura Fernández-Villadangos: Research Group on Governments and Markets (GiM) - Dep. de Política Econòmica - Institut d’Economia Aplicada (IREA), Universitat de Barcelona, Diagonal 690, 08034 Barcelona, Spain.

No XREAP2010-12, Working Papers from Xarxa de Referència en Economia Aplicada (XREAP)

Abstract: Concerns on the clustering of retail industries and professional services in main streets had traditionally been the public interest rationale for supporting distance regulations. Although many geographic restrictions have been suppressed, deregulation has hinged mostly upon the theory results on the natural tendency of outlets to differentiate spatially. Empirical evidence has so far offered mixed results. Using the case of deregulation of pharmacy establishment in a region of Spain, we empirically show how pharmacy locations scatter, and that there is not rationale for distance regulation apart from the underlying private interest of very few incumbents.

Keywords: distance; location; regulation; retailing (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: H42 K23 L51 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 38 pages
Date: 2010-12, Revised 2010-12
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-geo, nep-reg and nep-ure
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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http://www.xreap.cat/RePEc/xrp/pdf/XREAP2010-12.pdf Revised version, 2010 (application/pdf)

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