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Can Soft Drink Taxes Reduce Population Weight?

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  • JASON M. FLETCHER
  • DAVID FRISVOLD
  • NATHAN TEFFT

Abstract

Soft drink consumption has been hypothesized as one of the major factors in the growing rates of obesity in the United States. Nearly two‐thirds of all states currently tax soft drinks using excise taxes, sales taxes, or special exceptions to food exemptions from sales taxes to reduce consumption of this product, raise revenue, and improve public health. In this paper, we evaluate the impact of changes in state soft drink taxes on body mass index (BMI), obesity, and overweight. Our results suggest that soft drink taxes influence BMI, but that the impact is small in magnitude.(JEL I18, H75)

Suggested Citation

  • Jason M. Fletcher & David Frisvold & Nathan Tefft, 2010. "Can Soft Drink Taxes Reduce Population Weight?," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 28(1), pages 23-35, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:coecpo:v:28:y:2010:i:1:p:23-35
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    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1465-7287.2009.00182.x
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    Cited by:

    1. Riera-Crichton, Daniel & Tefft, Nathan, 2014. "Macronutrients and obesity: Revisiting the calories in, calories out framework," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 14(C), pages 33-49.
    2. repec:spr:sjecst:v:152:y:2016:i:3:d:10.1007_bf03399428 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. Dharmasena, Senarath & Davis, George & Capps, Oral, Jr., 2014. "Partial versus General Equilibrium Calorie and Revenue Effects Associated with a Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Tax," Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Western Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 39(2), pages 1-17.
    4. Åsa Ljungvall & Ulf Gerdtham & Ulf Lindblad, 2015. "Misreporting and misclassification: implications for socioeconomic disparities in body-mass index and obesity," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 16(1), pages 5-20, January.
    5. repec:oup:ajagec:v:99:y:2017:i:1:p:18-33. is not listed on IDEAS
    6. repec:eee:jfpoli:v:73:y:2017:i:c:p:88-94 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Lin, Biing-Hwan & Smith, Travis A. & Lee, Jonq-Ying & Hall, Kevin D., 2011. "Measuring weight outcomes for obesity intervention strategies: The case of a sugar-sweetened beverage tax," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 9(4), pages 329-341.
    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. Fletcher, Jason M. & Frisvold, David E. & Tefft, Nathan, 2010. "The effects of soft drink taxes on child and adolescent consumption and weight outcomes," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(11-12), pages 967-974, December.
    10. Papoutsi, Georgia & Nayga, Rodolfo & Lazaridis, Panagiotis & Drichoutis, Andreas, 2013. "Nudging parental health behavior with and without children's pestering power: Fat tax, subsidy or both?," MPRA Paper 52324, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    11. Cawley, John, 2015. "An economy of scales: A selective review of obesity's economic causes, consequences, and solutions," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 244-268.
    12. repec:eee:indorg:v:55:y:2017:i:c:p:1-24 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Radwan, Amr & Gil, Jose M., 2015. "Can Price Intervention Policies Improve Diet Quality in Spain?," 2015 Conference, August 9-14, 2015, Milan, Italy 212698, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    14. Liu, Yizao & Lopez, Rigoberto A. & Zhu, Chen, 2014. "The Impact of Four Alternative Policies to Decrease Soda Consumption," Agricultural and Resource Economics Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 43(01), pages 53-68, April.
    15. Ou Yang & Peter Sivey & Andrea M. de Silva & Anthony Scott, 2016. "Preschool Children’s Demand for Sugar Sweetened Beverages: Evidence from Stated-Preference Panel Data," Melbourne Institute Working Paper Series wp2016n25, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne.
    16. Jiunn Wang & Laura Marsiliani & Thomas Renstrom, 2017. "Tax Reform, Unhealthy Commodities and Endogenous Health," Working Papers 2017_12, Durham University Business School.
    17. Kalamov, Zarko Y., 2016. "A Sales Tax Is Better at Promoting Healthy Diets than the Fat Tax and the Thin Subsidy," EconStor Preprints 148007, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    18. Miao, Zhen, 2012. "Three essays on tax policies addressing the obesity epidemic and associated calorie intake," ISU General Staff Papers 201201010800003415, Iowa State University, Department of Economics.
    19. McGeary, Kerry Anne, 2013. "The impact of state-level nutrition-education program funding on BMI: Evidence from the behavioral risk factor surveillance system," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 67-78.
    20. Lin, Biing-Hwan & Dong, Diansheng & Carlson, Andrea & Rahkovsky, Ilya, 2017. "Potential dietary outcomes of changing relative prices of healthy and less healthy foods: The case of ready-to-eat breakfast cereals," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 77-88.
    21. Cawley, John & Meyerhoefer, Chad, 2012. "The medical care costs of obesity: An instrumental variables approach," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 219-230.
    22. Stefan J Meyer, 2016. "Obesity and Health-Care Costs in Switzerland: Dealing with Endogeneity in Non-Linear Regression Models," Swiss Journal of Economics and Statistics (SJES), Swiss Society of Economics and Statistics (SSES), vol. 152(III), pages 243-286, September.
    23. Wilson, Norbert L. W. & Zheng, Yuqing & Burney, Shaheer & Kaiser, Harry M., 2016. "Do Grocery Food Sales Taxes Cause Food Insecurity?," 2016 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Boston, Massachusetts 235324, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    24. Banterle, Alessandro & Cavaliere, Alessia, 2014. "Is there a relationship between product attributes, nutrition labels and excess weight? Evidence from an Italian region," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(P1), pages 241-249.
    25. repec:oup:apecpp:v:39:y:2017:i:3:p:387-406. is not listed on IDEAS

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • H75 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - State and Local Government: Health, Education, and Welfare

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