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Abstract
In Indonesia’s urban centres, supermarkets have multiplied
recently. With cheaper higher-quality commodities and
better services, supermarkets have the potential to drive
traders in traditional markets out of business. This paper
evaluates whether that is happening. It finds that traditional
traders experienced declines in their business. However,
both qualitative and quantitative findings indicate that
the main cause of decline is not supermarkets. Instead,
traditional markets are plagued with internal problems and
face increasingly bitter competition from street vendors.
The paper recommends policy to strengthen traditional
traders and tackle the problem of street vendors.