IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/hlthec/v24y2015i5p583-600.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Effects of A Soft Drink Tax in the UK

Author

Listed:
  • Richard Tiffin
  • Ariane Kehlbacher
  • Matthew Salois

Abstract

The majority of the UK population is either overweight or obese. Health economists, nutritionists and doctors are calling for the UK to follow the example of other European countries and introduce a tax on soft drinks as a result of the perception that high intakes contribute to diet‐related disease. We use a demand model estimated with household‐level data on beverage purchases in the UK to investigate the effects of a tax on soft drink consumption. The model is a Quadratic Almost Ideal Demand System, and censoring is handled by applying a double hurdle. Separate models are estimated for low, moderate and high consumers to allow for a differential impact on consumption between these groups. Applying different hypothetical tax rates, we conclude that understanding the nature of substitute/complement relationships is crucial in designing an effective policy as these relationships differ between consumers depending on their consumption level. The overall impact of a soft drink tax on calorie consumption is likely to be small. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Suggested Citation

  • Richard Tiffin & Ariane Kehlbacher & Matthew Salois, 2015. "The Effects of A Soft Drink Tax in the UK," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 24(5), pages 583-600, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:hlthec:v:24:y:2015:i:5:p:583-600
    DOI: 10.1002/hec.3046
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/hec.3046
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/hec.3046?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Richard Tiffin & Matthieu Arnoult, 2010. "The demand for a healthy diet: estimating the almost ideal demand system with infrequency of purchase," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Oxford University Press and the European Agricultural and Applied Economics Publications Foundation, vol. 37(4), pages 501-521, December.
    2. Deaton, Angus, 1988. "Quality, Quantity, and Spatial Variation of Price," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 78(3), pages 418-430, June.
    3. Smith, Travis A. & Biing-Hwan, Lin & Lee, Jonq-Ying, 2010. "Taxing Caloric Sweetened Beverages: Potential Effects on Beverage Consumption, Calorie Intake, and Obesity," Economic Research Report 95465, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    4. Cragg, John G, 1971. "Some Statistical Models for Limited Dependent Variables with Application to the Demand for Durable Goods," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 39(5), pages 829-844, September.
    5. Julie A. Nelson, 1991. "Quality Variation and Quantity Aggregation in Consumer Demand for Food," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 73(4), pages 1204-1212.
    6. Andreyeva, T. & Long, M.W. & Brownell, K.D., 2010. "The impact of food prices on consumption: A systematic review of research on the price elasticity of demand for food," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 100(2), pages 216-222.
    7. Senarath Dharmasens & Oral Capps, Jr., 2011. "Intended and Unintended Consequences of a Proposed National Tax on Sugar-Sweetened Beverages to Combat the U.S. Obesity Problem," Reports 285214, Texas A&M University, Agribusiness, Food, and Consumer Economics Research Center.
    8. Harding, Matthew & Lovenheim, Michael, 2017. "The effect of prices on nutrition: Comparing the impact of product- and nutrient-specific taxes," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 53-71.
    9. Blundell, Richard & Meghir, Costas, 1987. "Bivariate alternatives to the Tobit model," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 34(1-2), pages 179-200.
    10. Bergtold, Jason S. & Akobundu, Eberechukwu & Peterson, Everett B., 2004. "The FAST Method: Estimating Unconditional Demand Elasticities for Processed Foods in the Presence of Fixed Effects," Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Western Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 29(2), pages 1-20, August.
    11. James Banks & Richard Blundell & Arthur Lewbel, 1997. "Quadratic Engel Curves And Consumer Demand," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 79(4), pages 527-539, November.
    12. Chen Zhen & Eric A. Finkelstein & James M. Nonnemaker & Shawn A. Karns & Jessica E. Todd, 2014. "Predicting the Effects of Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Taxes on Food and Beverage Demand in a Large Demand System," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 96(1), pages 1-25.
    13. Diewert, W. E., 1976. "Exact and superlative index numbers," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 4(2), pages 115-145, May.
    14. David L. Edgerton, 1997. "Weak Separability and the Estimation of Elasticities in Multistage Demand Systems," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 79(1), pages 62-79.
    15. Deaton, Angus S & Muellbauer, John, 1980. "An Almost Ideal Demand System," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 70(3), pages 312-326, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Hunt Allcott & Benjamin B Lockwood & Dmitry Taubinsky, 2019. "Regressive Sin Taxes, with an Application to the Optimal Soda Tax," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 134(3), pages 1557-1626.
    2. Fritz Schiltz & Kristof De Witte, 2022. "Sugar rush or sugar crash? Experimental evidence on the impact of sugary drinks in the classroom," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(1), pages 215-232, January.
    3. Murat Genc, 2016. "Empirical Estimation of Elasticities and Their Use," EcoMod2016 9510, EcoMod.
    4. Fabrice Etilé & Sébastien Lecocq & Christine Boizot-Szantai, 2021. "Market heterogeneity and the distributional incidence of soft-drink taxes: evidence from France [Regressive sin taxes, with an application to the optimal soda tax]," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Oxford University Press and the European Agricultural and Applied Economics Publications Foundation, vol. 48(4), pages 915-939.
    5. Biondi, Beatrice & Cornelsen, Laura & Mazzocchi, Mario & Smith, Richard, 2020. "Between preferences and references: Asymmetric price elasticities and the simulation of fiscal policies," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 180(C), pages 108-128.
    6. Brendan Collins & Simon Capewell & Martin O’Flaherty & Hannah Timpson & Abdul Razzaq & Sylvia Cheater & Robin Ireland & Helen Bromley, 2015. "Modelling the Health Impact of an English Sugary Drinks Duty at National and Local Levels," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(6), pages 1-13, June.
    7. Sergiu Burlacu & Austėja Kažemekaitytė & Piero Ronzani & Lucia Savadori, 2022. "Blinded by worries: sin taxes and demand for temptation under financial worries," Theory and Decision, Springer, vol. 92(1), pages 141-187, February.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ou Yang & Peter Sivey & Andrea M. de Silva & Anthony Scott, 2020. "Parents' Demand for Sugar Sweetened Beverages for Their Pre‐School Children: Evidence from a Stated‐Preference Experiment," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 102(2), pages 480-504, March.
    2. Ariane Kehlbacher & Richard Tiffin & Adam Briggs & Mike Berners-Lee & Peter Scarborough, 2016. "The distributional and nutritional impacts and mitigation potential of emission-based food taxes in the UK," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 137(1), pages 121-141, July.
    3. Anurag Sharma & Katharina Hauck & Bruce Hollingsworth & Luigi Siciliani, 2014. "The Effects Of Taxing Sugar‐Sweetened Beverages Across Different Income Groups," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 23(9), pages 1159-1184, September.
    4. Joselin Segovia & Mercy Orellana & Juan Pablo Sarmiento & Darwin Carchi, 2020. "The effects of taxing sugar-sweetened beverages in Ecuador: An analysis across different income and consumption groups," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(10), pages 1-18, October.
    5. Juan Carlos Caro & Shu Wen Ng & Ricardo Bonilla & Jorge Tovar & Barry M Popkin, 2017. "Sugary drinks taxation, projected consumption and fiscal revenues in Colombia: Evidence from a QUAIDS model," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(12), pages 1-16, December.
    6. Femenia, Fabienne, 2019. "A Meta-Analysis of the Price and Income Elasticities of Food Demand," German Journal of Agricultural Economics, Humboldt-Universitaet zu Berlin, Department for Agricultural Economics, vol. 68(2), June.
    7. Javier García-Enríquez & Cruz A. Echevarría, 2018. "Demand for culture in Spain and the 2012 VAT rise," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 42(3), pages 469-506, August.
    8. Yuqing Zheng & Chen Zhen & Daniel Dench & James M. Nonnemaker, 2017. "U.S. Demand for Tobacco Products in a System Framework," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(8), pages 1067-1086, August.
    9. Gould, Brian W. & Dong, Diansheng, 2004. "Product Quality And The Demand For Food: The Case Of Urban China," 2004 Annual meeting, August 1-4, Denver, CO 20010, American Agricultural Economics Association (New Name 2008: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association).
    10. Caro, Juan Carlos & Ng, Shu Wen & Taillie, Lindsey Smith & Popkin, Barry M., 2017. "Designing a tax to discourage unhealthy food and beverage purchases: The case of Chile," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 86-100.
    11. Wang, Shaonan & Zhen, Chen, 2022. "The Impact of the 2009 WIC Food Package Revision on Participants’ Food and Beverage Purchases," 2022 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Anaheim, California 322390, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    12. Biondi, Beatrice & Cornelsen, Laura & Mazzocchi, Mario & Smith, Richard, 2020. "Between preferences and references: Asymmetric price elasticities and the simulation of fiscal policies," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 180(C), pages 108-128.
    13. Cosnard, Lionel & Laborde, David, 2019. "Taxing Sugar and Sugary Products to Reduce Obesity: A CGE Assessment of Several Tax Policies," Conference papers 333067, Purdue University, Center for Global Trade Analysis, Global Trade Analysis Project.
    14. Vardges Hovhannisyan & Sachintha Mendis & Chris Bastian, 2019. "An econometric analysis of demand for food quantity and quality in urban China," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 50(1), pages 3-13, January.
    15. Nordström, Jonas & Thunström, Linda, 2009. "The impact of tax reforms designed to encourage healthier grain consumption," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(3), pages 622-634, May.
    16. Zhen Miao & John C. Beghin & Helen H. Jensen, 2013. "Accounting For Product Substitution In The Analysis Of Food Taxes Targeting Obesity," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 22(11), pages 1318-1343, November.
    17. Li, Wenying & Dorfman, Jeffrey H., 2019. "The implications of heterogeneous habit in consumer beverage purchases on soda and sin taxes," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 111-120.
    18. Aguilar, Arturo & Gutierrez, Emilio & Seira, Enrique, 2021. "The effectiveness of sin food taxes: Evidence from Mexico," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    19. Widenhorn, Andreas & Salhofer, Klaus, 2014. "Using a Generalized Differenced Demand Model to Estimate Price and Expenditure Elasticities for Milk and Meat in Austria," Journal of International Agricultural Trade and Development, Journal of International Agricultural Trade and Development, vol. 63(2).
    20. Zhai, Tianchang & Li, Lei & Wang, Jingjing & Si, Wei, 2022. "Will the consumption tax on sugar-sweetened beverages help promote healthy beverage consumption? Evidence from urban China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wly:hlthec:v:24:y:2015:i:5:p:583-600. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/jhome/5749 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.