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Did the junk food tax make the Hungarians eat healthier?

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  • Bíró, Anikó

Abstract

I analyse whether the introduction of the unhealthy food tax lead to significant improvements in the dietary habits of the Hungarian population. I focus on the consumption of processed and unprocessed food before and after the tax was levied on a range of food high in salt and sugar. Using data from a large scale household panel data set, I estimate the consumed quantities of processed food to decrease by 3.4% due to the unhealthy food tax, while the consumed quantities of unprocessed food increased by 1.1%. The lowest income groups were the most responsive to the introduction of the tax. Despite data limitations, the results indicate moderate improvement in population diet that is likely to be attributable to the tax.

Suggested Citation

  • Bíró, Anikó, 2015. "Did the junk food tax make the Hungarians eat healthier?," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 107-115.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jfpoli:v:54:y:2015:i:c:p:107-115
    DOI: 10.1016/j.foodpol.2015.05.003
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Fred Kuchler & Abebayehu Tegene & J. Michael Harris, 2005. "Taxing Snack Foods: Manipulating Diet Quality or Financing Information Programs?," Review of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 27(1), pages 4-20.
    2. 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.
    3. Jensen, Jørgen Dejgård & Smed, Sinne, 2013. "The Danish tax on saturated fat – Short run effects on consumption, substitution patterns and consumer prices of fats," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 18-31.
    4. Yaniv, Gideon & Rosin, Odelia & Tobol, Yossef, 2009. "Junk-food, home cooking, physical activity and obesity: The effect of the fat tax and the thin subsidy," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(5-6), pages 823-830, June.
    5. Fred Kuchler & Abebayehu Tegene & J. Michael Harris, 2005. "Taxing Snack Foods: Manipulating Diet Quality or Financing Information Programs?," Review of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 27(1), pages 4-20.
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    Cited by:

    1. Christoph F. Kurz & Adriana N. König, 2021. "The causal impact of sugar taxes on soft drink sales: evidence from France and Hungary," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 22(6), pages 905-915, August.
    2. Anikó Bíró, 2021. "The impact of sweet food tax on producers and household spending—Evidence from Hungary," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 52(4), pages 545-559, July.
    3. Zhang, Qi & McCluskey, Jill J. & Gallardo, R. Karina & Brady, Michael P., 2021. "Avoidance behaviors circumventing the sugar-sweetened beverages tax," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 105(C).
    4. Alberto Pench, 0. "Time Allocation and Snacks and Sugar Sweetened Beverages Taxation," Italian Economic Journal: A Continuation of Rivista Italiana degli Economisti and Giornale degli Economisti, Springer;Società Italiana degli Economisti (Italian Economic Association), vol. 0, pages 1-24.
    5. Jaya Jumrani & J. V. Meenakshi, 2023. "How effective is a fat subsidy? Evidence from edible oil consumption in India," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 74(2), pages 327-348, June.
    6. Alberto Pench, 2020. "Time Allocation and Snacks and Sugar Sweetened Beverages Taxation," Italian Economic Journal: A Continuation of Rivista Italiana degli Economisti and Giornale degli Economisti, Springer;Società Italiana degli Economisti (Italian Economic Association), vol. 6(3), pages 469-492, November.
    7. Gračner, Tadeja & Kapinos, Kandice A. & Gertler, Paul J., 2022. "Associations of a national tax on non-essential high calorie foods with changes in consumer prices," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    8. Gračner, Tadeja, 2021. "Bittersweet: How prices of sugar-rich foods contribute to the diet-related disease epidemic in Mexico," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).

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