Blue laws: Impact on regional retail activity

Diametrically opposite conclusions about the impact of blue laws on regional retail activity can be found in both the popular press and the economics literature. Most of these conclusions are based either on anecdotal evidence or on data from particular types of retail stores in a very limited geographical area.This study is based on a nation-wide analysis of the retail sector as a whole and ten subsectors in all regions of the U.S. with and without blue laws. The results suggest that Sunday closing laws do not affect the overall level of retail activity in a region in a significant manner. However, blue laws are shown to significantly affect the distribution of retail activity among certain subsectors of retail trade in a region.