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Taxes and subsidies to change eating habits when information is not enough: an application to fish consumption

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  • Stéphan Marette
  • Jutta Roosen
  • Sandrine Blanchemanche

Abstract

A calibrated model is used to determine the welfare impacts of various regulatory instruments for improving health. The results of a lab experiment are integrated in a partial equilibrium model representing demands for two kinds of fish, one with higher nutritional benefits (canned sardines) and one with higher contamination risks (canned tuna) in France. In the laboratory, information about health effects leads to a statistically significant decrease (increase) in the willingness to pay for tuna (sardines). Simulations with the laboratory results show that, for most cases, a per-unit tax on tuna and a per-unit subsidy on sardines without any information revealed to consumers lead to the highest welfare, because both the tax and subsidy directly internalize health characteristics. The information policy combined with a per-unit tax on tuna and a per-unit subsidy on sardines is socially profitable only if a large proportion of consumers (greater than 95%) receives health information.
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Suggested Citation

  • Stéphan Marette & Jutta Roosen & Sandrine Blanchemanche, 2008. "Taxes and subsidies to change eating habits when information is not enough: an application to fish consumption," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 34(2), pages 119-143, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:regeco:v:34:y:2008:i:2:p:119-143
    DOI: 10.1007/s11149-008-9057-0
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    Cited by:

    1. Lusk Jayson L. & Marette Stéphan, 2012. "Can Labeling and Information Policies Harm Consumers?," Journal of Agricultural & Food Industrial Organization, De Gruyter, vol. 10(1), pages 1-15, October.
    2. S. Marette & L. Nabec & F. Durieux, 2019. "Improving Nutritional Quality of Consumers’ Food Purchases With Traffic-Lights Labels: An Experimental Analysis," Journal of Consumer Policy, Springer, vol. 42(3), pages 377-395, September.
    3. Stéphan Marette & John Beghin & Anne‐Célia Disdier & Eliza Mojduszka, 2023. "Can foods produced with new plant engineering techniques succeed in the marketplace? A case study of apples," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 45(1), pages 414-435, March.
    4. Stéphan Marette & Anne‐Célia Disdier & Anastasia Bodnar & John Beghin, 2023. "New plant engineering techniques, R&D investment and international trade," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 74(2), pages 349-368, June.
    5. Rousu, Matthew C. & Marette, Stéphan & Thrasher, James F. & Lusk, Jayson L., 2014. "The economic value to smokers of graphic warning labels on cigarettes: Evidence from combining market and experimental auction data," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 123-134.
    6. Marette Stéphan & Roosen Jutta & Blanchemanche Sandrine, 2011. "The Combination of Lab and Field Experiments for Benefit-Cost Analysis," Journal of Benefit-Cost Analysis, De Gruyter, vol. 2(3), pages 1-36, August.
    7. Yokessa, Maïmouna & Marette, Stéphan, 2019. "A Review of Eco-labels and their Economic Impact," International Review of Environmental and Resource Economics, now publishers, vol. 13(1-2), pages 119-163, April.
    8. Frank van Tongeren & John Beghin & Stéphane Marette, 2009. "A Cost-Benefit Framework for the Assessment of Non-Tariff Measures in Agro-Food Trade," OECD Food, Agriculture and Fisheries Papers 21, OECD Publishing.
    9. Stéphan Marette & Jayson L. Lusk & Jutta Roosen, 2010. "Welfare Impact of Information with Experiments: The Crucial Role of the Price Elasticity of Demand," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 30(2), pages 1585-1593.
    10. Anne-Célia Disdier & Stéphan Marette, 2012. "Taxes, minimum-quality standards and/or product labeling to improve environmental quality and welfare: Experiments can provide answers," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 41(3), pages 337-357, June.
    11. Marette, Stephan, 2017. "Quality, market mechanisms and regulation in the food chain," Bio-based and Applied Economics Journal, Italian Association of Agricultural and Applied Economics (AIEAA), vol. 5(3), February.
    12. Stéphan Marette & Françoise Guéraud & Fabrice H.F. Pierre, 2021. "Regulation and Consumer Interest in an Antioxidant-Enriched Ham Associated with Reduced Colorectal Cancer Risks [Réglementation et intérêt des consommateurs pour un jambon enrichi en antioxydants a," Post-Print hal-03219714, HAL.
    13. Kentaro Kawasaki & Takeshi Fujie & Kentaro Koito & Norikazu Inoue & Hiroki Sasaki, 2012. "Conservation Auctions and Compliance: Theory and Evidence from Laboratory Experiments," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 52(2), pages 157-179, June.
    14. Marette, Stéphan & Millet, Guy, 2014. "Economic benefits from promoting linseed in the diet of dairy cows for reducing methane emissions and improving milk quality," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 140-149.
    15. Castellari Elena & Moro Daniele & Sckokai Paolo & Marette Stéphan, 2019. "The Impact of Information on Willingness to Pay and Quantity Choices for Meat and Meat Substitute," Journal of Agricultural & Food Industrial Organization, De Gruyter, vol. 17(1), pages 1-16, May.
    16. Stéphan Marette & Vincent Réquillart, 2020. "Dietary models and challenges for economics," Review of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Studies, Springer, vol. 101(1), pages 5-22, October.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Fetal development; Health; Information; Pregnancy; Regulation; Taxation; C9; H2; I1; L5;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C9 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments
    • H2 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue
    • I1 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health
    • L5 - Industrial Organization - - Regulation and Industrial Policy

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