Industrial Organization of General Stores in Three Southern States After Emancipation

I explore determinants of entry and exit of general
stores between 1867 and 1870 in Alabama, Arkansas, and Mississippi. If general stores
are monopolies, entry and exit should be insensitive to changes in demand, as
proxied by changes in population. Entry
and exit should also be insensitive to other competitive market forces. Through a newly collected data set of firms
and towns, I find limited evidence consistent with monopoly power. I fail to find clear evidence consistent with
competition. I also find that changes in
population had no significant effect on entry and exit of firms overall,
suggesting that industrial organization of general stores was not unique. Other determinants characterize the business
environments of firms overall, suggesting a complex environment with market
forces not always moving freely.