This article has been accepted for publication and undergone full peer review but has not been through the copyediting, typesetting, pagination and proofreading process, which may lead to differences between this version and the Version of Record. Please cite this article as doi: 10.1111/1540-6229.12209. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. Big Box Stores and Urban Land Prices: Friend or Foe? Barrett A. Slade James Passey Professor of Finance Department of Finance Marriott School Brigham Young University Provo, Utah 84602 (801) 422-3504 bslade@byu.edu First Draft: September 15, 2016 Current Draft: July 14, 2017 JEL classification: R14, R30, R32, R33 Keywords: Land prices, big-box stores, Walmart, hedonic price analysis, spatial difference-in- differences (DID) analysis I wish to thank Abdullah Yavas, Editor, two anonymous referees, my colleagues at the Marriott School at BYU, and Jessie Handbury at Wharton for helpful comments and suggestions. I also wish to thank Greg Adams, Hanna Hutcheson, Matt Moen, and Chris Childers for research assistance. This work was supported by the James Passey Professorship and the Peery Institute of Financial Services at the Marriott School at BYU. The standard disclaimer applies. Abstract Using a spatial difference-in-differences research design, this paper examined the effect of a new Walmart store on nearby U.S. urban land prices and found that, within one quarter mile of a new Walmart store locale, land prices increased by almost 39% over the four-year development time period (from site negotiation to the store opening) compared with land located from one to three miles from the new store site. The analysis found that land prices increased almost geometrically over the development period as information leakage implied that a new store would actually be built and that demand for nearby land would increase. The positive effects were found to dissipate with