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The Impact of Tax Reforms Designed to Encourage a Healthier Grain Consumption

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  • Nordström, Jonas

    () (Institute of Food and Resource Economics)

  • Thunström, Linda

    () (The Swedish Retail Institute)

Abstract

In this paper, we simulate the effects of taxes on products and/or nutrients aimed at encouraging a healthier grain consumption. To carry out the analysis, we use a rich data set on household consumption of grain products, combined with information about the nutritional content of the products. We estimate behavioural parameters that are used to simulate the impact on the average household of different types of tax reforms; entailing either a subsidy on commodities particularly rich in fibre or a subsidy of the fibre density in grain products. Our results suggest that to direct the fibre intake of the average household towards nutritional recommendations, reforms with a substantial impact on consumer prices are required. Our results also imply that subsidizing the fibre density is more cost-efficient than reducing the VAT on commodities rich in fibre. Regardless of the type of subsidy imposed, the increase in the fibre intake is accompanied by unwanted increases in the nutrients that are often over consumed; fat, saturated fat, salt and sugar and added sugar. Funding the subsidies by taxing these nutrients, or less healthy commodities, prevents such developments.

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Bibliographic Info

Paper provided by HUI Research in its series HUI Working Papers with number 11.

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Length: 44 pages
Date of creation: 06 Nov 2007
Date of revision:
Publication status: Published as Nordström, Jonas and Linda Thunström, 'The Impact of Tax Reforms Designed to Encourage a Healthier Grain Consumption' in Journal of Health Economics, 2009, pages 622-634.
Handle: RePEc:hhs:huiwps:0011

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Keywords: Consumer economics; food; health; taxation;

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Citations

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Cited by:
  1. Capacci, Sara & Mazzocchi, Mario, 2011. "Five-a-day, a price to pay: An evaluation of the UK program impact accounting for market forces," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(1), pages 87-98, January.
  2. Nordström, Jonas & Thunström, Linda, 2011. "Can targeted food taxes and subsidies improve the diet? Distributional effects among income groups," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(2), pages 259-271, April.
  3. Jonas Nordström & Linda Thunström, 2011. "Economic policies for healthier food intake: the impact on different household categories," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer, vol. 12(2), pages 127-140, April.
  4. Darmon, N. & Lacroix, A. & Muller, L. & Ruffieux, B., 2011. "Experimental economics shows how food price policies may improve diet while increasing socioeconomic inequalities in nutrition," Working Papers 201104, Grenoble Applied Economics Laboratory (GAEL).
  5. Kaisa Kotakorpi & Pirjo Pietinen & Jukka Pirttila & Heli Reinivuo & Ilpo Suoniemi, 2012. "The Welfare Effects of Health-Based Food Tax Policy," Discussion Papers 81, Aboa Centre for Economics.
  6. S. Duvaleix-Tréguer & A. Hammoudi & L. Rouached & L.G. Soler, 2012. "Firms' responses to nutritional policies," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Foundation for the European Review of Agricultural Economics, vol. 39(5), pages 843-877, December.
  7. Nordström, Jonas & Thunström, Linda, 2009. "The Impact on Different Household Types of Economic Policies Designed to Increase the Fiber Intake from Grain Consumption," HUI Working Papers 22, HUI Research.
  8. Ehmke, Mariah D. & Willson, Tina M. & Schroeter, Christiane & Hart, Ann Marie & Coupal, Roger H., 2009. "Obesity Economics for the Western United States," Western Economics Forum, Western Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 8(02).

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