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Does Banning Carbonated Beverages in Schools Decrease Student Consumption?

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  • Shirlee Lichtman

    (Stanford University)

Abstract

In an effort to combat childhood obesity, many schools have banned the sale of carbonated beverages on school grounds. I evaluate the effectiveness of these measures by investigating their impact on household carbonated beverage consumption. I match households in Nielsen Homescan Data to their school district’s carbonated beverage policies over the last 10 years. I use variation across school districts in whether the policy was implemented and the timing of the policy, as well as whether the household has children in the age group included in the policy. I find that when high schools ban the sale of carbonated beverages to students, households with a high school student experiencing the ban increase their consumption of non-diet carbonated beverages by roughly the equivalent of 3.5 cans per month. Increased consumption is greater in the quarter following the policy implementation and appears to persist even a year after the introduction of the ban. I present evidence that the average high school student consumes roughly 4.5 cans of non-diet soda per month in school, when carbonated beverages are available. Thus, the results suggest that the drop in student school consumption is substantially offset by increased household consumption.

Suggested Citation

  • Shirlee Lichtman, 2012. "Does Banning Carbonated Beverages in Schools Decrease Student Consumption?," Discussion Papers 12-023, Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research.
  • Handle: RePEc:sip:dpaper:12-023
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    1. Rui Huang & Kristin Kiesel, 2012. "Does limited access at school result in compensation at home? The effect of soft drink bans in schools on purchase patterns outside of schools," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Foundation for the European Review of Agricultural Economics, vol. 39(5), pages 797-820, December.
    2. Darius Lakdawalla & Tomas Philipson & Jay Bhattacharya, 2005. "Welfare-Enhancing Technological Change and the Growth of Obesity," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 95(2), pages 253-257, May.
    3. Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach, 2009. "Do School Lunches Contribute to Childhood Obesity?," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 44(3).
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