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Generalized Nutrient Taxes Can Increase Consumer Welfare

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  • David Bishai

Abstract

Certain nutrients can stimulate appetite making them fattening in a way that is not fully conveyed by the calorie content on the label. For rational eaters, this information gap could be corrected by more labeling. As an alternative, this paper proposes a set of positive and negative taxes on the fattening and slimming nutrients in food rather than on the food itself. There are conditions under which this tax plus subsidy system could increase welfare by stopping unwanted weight gain while leaving the final retail price of food unchanged. A nutrient tax system could improve welfare if fattening nutrients, net of their effect on weight, are inferior goods and the fiscal cost of administering the tax is sufficiently low. More data on the price elasticity of demand for nutrients as well as data on how specific nutrients affect satiety and how total calorie intake would be necessary before one could be sure a nutrient tax would work in practice. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Suggested Citation

  • David Bishai, 2015. "Generalized Nutrient Taxes Can Increase Consumer Welfare," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 24(11), pages 1517-1522, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:hlthec:v:24:y:2015:i:11:p:1517-1522
    DOI: 10.1002/hec.3101
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. 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.

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