中文摘要
新兴经济体中数以亿计的微型企业面临着提供类似产品的大企业进入与扩张所带来的日益激烈的竞争。本文考察连锁便利店的开设对世界上最普遍的微型企业之一——店主自营小店——的影响。为处理连锁店开设时间与选址的内生性问题，我将双向固定效应与一种新的工具变量相结合，该工具变量在邻里层面改变连锁店的盈利能力，但不改变小店的盈利能力。将连锁门店数量从零增加到邻里平均水平6.7家，会使小店数量减少15%；这一下降并非由小店退出增加所致，而是由小店进入减少所致。小店维持了生鲜产品的销售额，并留住了96%的顾客，但顾客光顾小店的频率降低，在包装商品上的支出也减少。存活下来的小店利用了店主自营所带来的竞争优势，例如较低的代理成本、与邻居建立关系，以及为顾客提供非正规信贷。连锁便利店取代小店所带来的福利收益随家庭收入增加而增加；最贫困的家庭则遭受福利损失。
Abstract
Abstract Hundreds of millions of microenterprises in emerging economies face increased competition from the entry and expansion of large firms that offer similar products. This paper examines the impacts of the opening of chain-run convenience stores on one of the world’s most ubiquitous microenterprises: owner-operated shops. To address endogeneity in time and location of chains’ opening, I pair two-way fixed effects with a novel instrument that shifts the profitability of chains but not of shops at the neighbourhood level. Expanding the number of chain outlets from zero to the neighbourhood average of 6.7 stores reduces the number of shops by 15%, a decline driven not by increased shop exits but by decreased shop entries. Shops retain their sales of fresh products and keep 96% of their customers, but customers visit shops less frequently and spend less on packaged goods. Surviving shops leverage competitive advantages stemming from being owner operated, such as lower agency costs, cultivating relationships with neighbours, and offering customers informal credit. The welfare gains of convenience chains replacing shops increase with household income; the poorest households experience a welfare loss.