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Equilibrium Effects of Food Labeling Policies

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  • Barahona, Nano
  • Otero, Cristobal
  • Otero, Sebastian

Abstract

We study a regulation in Chile that mandates warning labels on products whose sugar or caloric concentration exceeds certain thresholds. We show that consumers substitute from labeled to unlabeled products—a pattern mostly driven by products that consumers mistakenly believe to be healthy. On the supply side, we find substantial reformulation of products and bunching at the thresholds. We develop and estimate an equilibrium model of demand for food and firms’ pricing and nutritional choices. We find that food labels increase consumer welfare by 1.6% of total expenditure, and that these effects are enhanced by firms’ responses. We then use the model to study alternative policy designs. Under optimal policy thresholds, food labels and sugar taxes generate similar gains in consumer welfare, but food labels benefit the poor relatively more

Suggested Citation

  • Barahona, Nano & Otero, Cristobal & Otero, Sebastian, 2022. "Equilibrium Effects of Food Labeling Policies," MPRA Paper 114597, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:114597
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    2. A. Ramirez-Hassan & C. Gomez & S. Velasquez & K. Tangarife, 2023. "Marijuana on Main Streets? The Story Continues in Colombia: An Endogenous Three-part Model," Papers 2306.10031, arXiv.org.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Food labels; equilibrium effects; misinformation; sugar taxes.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
    • D22 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Empirical Analysis
    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • L11 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Production, Pricing, and Market Structure; Size Distribution of Firms
    • L81 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Retail and Wholesale Trade; e-Commerce

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