The Effects of Trading-Hour Regulations on Large Stores in Korea

Purpose - This study empirically analyses the sale changes in large retail stores directly resulting from increased controls on those stores. More specifically, we discuss the economic impacts on Korean regulations that restrict trading hours and mandate statutory store closure ‘holidays’ twice per month. Research design, data and methodology - we attempt to empirically analyse the economic effects of trading hours regulations through quantitative analysis of the sales revenue data of large retail stores. We introduce the data and methods of empirical analysis used to analyse the economic effects of trading-hour regulations on large retail stores. We use a panel regression to analyse the sales losses of large retail stores caused by the new constraints on business hours. Results - The results of this study show that the sales of large retail stores fell by the average of 3.4% per month during the regulation periods. However, regulations affecting large retail stores have various economic impacts, including variations in sales, changes in consumption patterns, and influences on consumer welfare and national economy. Conclusions - Such changes may also be captured by other metrics: accordingly, further researches are needed to measure the impact of regulations on economic indicators such as employment and GDP.