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Cross-Border Shopping and the Sales Tax: A Reexamination of Food Purchases in West Virginia

Author

Listed:
  • Mehmet Serkan Tosun

    (Department of Economics, University of Nevada)

  • Mark Skidmore

    (Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics, Michigan State University)

Abstract

In this paper new evidence is presented of cross-border shopping in response to sales taxation. While several instructive studies provide estimates of the cross-border shopping effect, a unique opportunity is utilized to evaluate the effect of a large discrete change in sales tax policy. Using county level data on food income and sales tax data for West Virginia over the 1982-2000 period it is estimated that for every one-percentage point increase in the county relative price ratio due to sales tax change, the per capita food income decreases by about 0.7 percent. The estimates indicate that food sales fell in West Virginia border counties by about 4 percent as a result of the imposition of the 6 percent sales tax on food in 1989.

Suggested Citation

  • Mehmet Serkan Tosun & Mark Skidmore, 2005. "Cross-Border Shopping and the Sales Tax: A Reexamination of Food Purchases in West Virginia," Working Papers Working Paper 2005-07, Regional Research Institute, West Virginia University.
    • Handle: RePEc:rri:wpaper:2005wp07
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    food; west virginia; sales tax; economics; regional;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • P25 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist and Transition Economies - - - Urban, Rural, and Regional Economics
    • R11 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Regional Economic Activity: Growth, Development, Environmental Issues, and Changes
    • O18 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Urban, Rural, Regional, and Transportation Analysis; Housing; Infrastructure

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