Student News
Student to Study Economic Impact of Wal-Mart in China
While other college students are hitting the beaches and tackling part-time jobs this summer, Moore School sophomore Justin Bright plans to study the economic impact of Wal-Mart on the Chinese economy. Bright was awarded a $3,000 Magellan Scholarship through the University of South Carolina’s Office of Undergraduate Research for his project titled "Wal-Mart, the Trade Deficit, and Regional Competitiveness in the Pearl River Region of China."
In a paper he wrote for Dr. Doug Woodward's International Trade Class in Fall 2006, Bright says he determined that Wal-Mart alone contributes 1 percent to China’s large GDP, "which is substantial since Wal-Mart is a single company, and China’s GDP is so large… My research is unique because it will try to determine the relationship between a single firm and a country, which is a new phenomenon, and the relationship between Wal-Mart and the growing trade gap."
Woodward, director of the Division of Research and professor of economics at Moore, is serving as Bright’s mentor and wholeheartedly supports the research. Woodward traveled to China earlier this year and made extensive contacts with academics, industry officials, and regional government officials. "Despite attention in the media and the U.S. Congress about the trade gap, there has been little academic research on the competitive advantages of this dynamic region that attracts U.S. business to China… I would fully support the project proposed by Justin Bright for the Magellan Scholarship," Woodward said in a recommendation to the Magellan selection committee.
Bright will be traveling July 18-August 2, and will visit Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong. He will tour factories, such as Quoizel Lighting, visit ports, meet with university professors and students, and talk to top executives about their international sourcing. Results of his study will published in a future issue of Business & Economic Review, a quarterly publication of the Moore School.
Gail Crouch
May 2007