Should We Put a Thin Subsidy on the Policy Table in the Fight against Obesity?
The idea of using 'fat taxes’ to curb obesity rates has been raised by many. In particular, the idea of taxing sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) has received considerable attention in the United States and has recently been discussed by President Obama. Rather less attention has been given to the alternative of 'thin subsidies’, that is, subsidies for the consumption of foods or beverages likely to be associated with reduced incidence of obesity. This commentary examines the case for a subsidy for artificially sweetened beverages (ASBs) or 'diet soft drinks’. In this commentary, we outline the evidence on the relationship between health outcomes, most notably obesity, and the consumption of SSBs and ASBs. In the light of the evidence we consider the economic effects of taxing SSBs, and the way in which those effects would be modified by the adoption of the alternative 'thin subsidy’ based on subsidising ASBs.
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Volume (Year): 14 (2011)
Issue (Month): 2 (March)
Pages: 1-13
| Handle: | RePEc:bpj:fhecpo:v:14:y:2011:i:2:n:1 |
| Contact details of provider: | Web page: http://www.degruyter.com
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| Order Information: | Web: http://www.degruyter.com/view/j/fhep |
References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
- 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, 01.
- Jason M. Fletcher & David Frisvold & Nathan Tefft, 2008. "Can Soft Drink Taxes Reduce Population Weight?," Emory Economics 0808, Department of Economics, Emory University (Atlanta).
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