IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/zbw/ifwedp/20201.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Fixed-effect versus random-effects meta-analysis in economics: A study of pass-through rates for alcohol beverage excise taxes

Author

Listed:
  • Nelson, Jon Paul

Abstract

This paper compares two methods for meta-analysis: fixed-effect models and random- effects models. Both models are applied to pass-through rates of excise taxes on alcohol beverages. Using a sample of estimates from 30 primary studies, weighted means are first reported for each method and compared against a fully- passed tax or rate of unity. Dispersion and heterogeneity statistics are used to assess the performance of each method. Second, means and dispersion statistics are reported by subgroups for country source; beverage (beer, wine-spirits); and published status. Third, tests are conducted forpublication selection bias using funnel plots and regression asymmetry tests. Fourth, threeprocedures are undertaken to reduce selection bias: trim-and-fill; cumulative meta-analysis; and meta-regressions. Based on a variety of tests and procedures, three conclusions arereached. First, a random-effects model is more appropriate for these data, reflecting diverse estimates of pass-through rates. Second, pass-through rates are approximately unity regardless of beverage. Third, greater attention needs to be given to choice of model for meta-analysis in economics.

Suggested Citation

  • Nelson, Jon Paul, 2020. "Fixed-effect versus random-effects meta-analysis in economics: A study of pass-through rates for alcohol beverage excise taxes," Economics Discussion Papers 2020-1, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW).
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:ifwedp:20201
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.economics-ejournal.org/economics/discussionpapers/2020-1
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/210639/1/1687170746.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. John P. A. Ioannidis & T. D. Stanley & Hristos Doucouliagos, 2017. "The Power of Bias in Economics Research," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 127(605), pages 236-265, October.
    2. Donald S. Kenkel, 2005. "Are Alcohol Tax Hikes Fully Passed Through to Prices? Evidence from Alaska," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 95(2), pages 273-277, May.
    3. Paldam, Martin, 2015. "Meta-analysis in a nutshell: Techniques and general findings," Economics - The Open-Access, Open-Assessment E-Journal, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW), vol. 9, pages 1-14.
    4. Julian P. T. Higgins & Simon G. Thompson & David J. Spiegelhalter, 2009. "A re‐evaluation of random‐effects meta‐analysis," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 172(1), pages 137-159, January.
    5. Richard G. Anderson & Areerat Kichkha, 2017. "Replication, Meta-analysis, and Research Synthesis in Economics," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 107(5), pages 56-59, May.
    6. Card, David & Krueger, Alan B, 1995. "Time-Series Minimum-Wage Studies: A Meta-analysis," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 85(2), pages 238-243, May.
    7. Reed, W. Robert, 2015. "A Monte Carlo analysis of alternative meta-analysis estimators in the presence of publication bias," Economics - The Open-Access, Open-Assessment E-Journal, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW), vol. 9, pages 1-40.
    8. Bergstrom, John C. & Taylor, Laura O., 2006. "Using meta-analysis for benefits transfer: Theory and practice," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(2), pages 351-360, December.
    9. Young, Douglas J & Bieli´nska-Kwapisz, Agnieszka, 2002. "Alcohol Taxes and Beverage Prices," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 55(1), pages 57-73, March.
    10. Barzel, Yoram, 1976. "An Alternative Approach to the Analysis of Taxation," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 84(6), pages 1177-1197, December.
    11. Young, Douglas J & Bieli´nska-Kwapisz, Agnieszka, 2002. "Alcohol Taxes and Beverage Prices," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association, vol. 55(N. 1), pages 57-73, March.
    12. Doucouliagos, Chris & Stanley, T.D. & Giles, Margaret, 2012. "Are estimates of the value of a statistical life exaggerated?," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 197-206.
    13. Ryan S. Sullivan & Donald H. Dutkowsky, 2013. "Public Finance Review," Public Finance Review, , vol. 41(1), pages 144-144, January.
    14. De Long, J Bradford & Lang, Kevin, 1992. "Are All Economic Hypotheses False?," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 100(6), pages 1257-1272, December.
    15. Jon Nelson & Peter Kennedy, 2009. "The Use (and Abuse) of Meta-Analysis in Environmental and Natural Resource Economics: An Assessment," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 42(3), pages 345-377, March.
    16. Garret Christensen & Edward Miguel, 2018. "Transparency, Reproducibility, and the Credibility of Economics Research," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 56(3), pages 920-980, September.
    17. Costa-Font, Joan & McGuire, Alistair & Stanley, Tom, 2013. "Publication selection in health policy research: The winner's curse hypothesis," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 109(1), pages 78-87.
    18. Kenneth Button, 2019. "The value and challenges of using meta-analysis in transportation economics," Transport Reviews, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(3), pages 293-308, May.
    19. Viscusi, W. Kip, 2018. "Best Estimate Selection Bias in the Value of a Statistical Life," Journal of Benefit-Cost Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 9(2), pages 205-246, July.
    20. Stanley, T. D. & Jarrell, Stephen B. & Doucouliagos, Hristos, 2010. "Could It Be Better to Discard 90% of the Data? A Statistical Paradox," The American Statistician, American Statistical Association, vol. 64(1), pages 70-77.
    21. Griffith, Rachel & O’Connell, Martin & Smith, Kate, 2019. "Tax design in the alcohol market," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 172(C), pages 20-35.
    22. Lifeng Lin & Haitao Chu, 2018. "Quantifying publication bias in meta‐analysis," Biometrics, The International Biometric Society, vol. 74(3), pages 785-794, September.
    23. E. Glen Weyl & Michal Fabinger, 2013. "Pass-Through as an Economic Tool: Principles of Incidence under Imperfect Competition," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 121(3), pages 528-583.
    24. Christensen, Garret & Miguel, Edward, 2017. "Transparency, Reproducibility, and the Credibility of Economics Research," Department of Economics, Working Paper Series qt52h6x1cq, Department of Economics, Institute for Business and Economic Research, UC Berkeley.
    25. Lindhjem, Henrik & Navrud, Ståle, 2008. "How reliable are meta-analyses for international benefit transfers?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(2-3), pages 425-435, June.
    26. Sue Duval & Richard Tweedie, 2000. "Trim and Fill: A Simple Funnel-Plot–Based Method of Testing and Adjusting for Publication Bias in Meta-Analysis," Biometrics, The International Biometric Society, vol. 56(2), pages 455-463, June.
    27. Stern, Nicholas, 1987. "The effects of taxation, price control and government contracts in oligopoly and monopolistic competition," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(2), pages 133-158, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Nazila Alinaghi & W. Robert Reed, 2021. "Taxes and Economic Growth in OECD Countries: A Meta-analysis," Public Finance Review, , vol. 49(1), pages 3-40, January.
    2. Marvin Schütt, 2021. "Systematic Variation in Waste Site Effects on Residential Property Values: A Meta-Regression Analysis and Benefit Transfer," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 78(3), pages 381-416, March.
    3. Stanley, T. D. & Doucouliagos, Chris, 2019. "Practical Significance, Meta-Analysis and the Credibility of Economics," IZA Discussion Papers 12458, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Christopher Snyder & Ran Zhuo, 2018. "Sniff Tests as a Screen in the Publication Process: Throwing out the Wheat with the Chaff," NBER Working Papers 25058, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Cazachevici, Alina & Havranek, Tomas & Horvath, Roman, 2020. "Remittances and economic growth: A meta-analysis," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    6. Geyer-Klingeberg, Jerome & Hang, Markus & Rathgeber, Andreas, 2020. "Meta-analysis in finance research: Opportunities, challenges, and contemporary applications," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    7. Brian Fabo & Martina Jancokova & Elisabeth Kempf & Lubos Pastor, 2020. "Fifty Shades of QE: Conflicts of Interest in Economic Research," Working Papers 2020-128, Becker Friedman Institute for Research In Economics.
    8. Isaiah Andrews & Maximilian Kasy, 2019. "Identification of and Correction for Publication Bias," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 109(8), pages 2766-2794, August.
    9. Tomas Kucera, 2020. "Are Employment Effects of Minimum Wage the Same Across the EU? A Meta-Regression Analysis," Working Papers IES 2020/2, Charles University Prague, Faculty of Social Sciences, Institute of Economic Studies, revised Jan 2020.
    10. Chris Doucouliagos & Jakob de Haan & Jan-Egbert Sturm, 2020. "What Drives Financial Development? A Meta-Regression Analysis," CESifo Working Paper Series 8356, CESifo.
    11. Havranek, Tomas & Irsova, Zuzana & Laslopova, Lubica & Zeynalova, Olesia, 2020. "The Elasticity of Substitution between Skilled and Unskilled Labor: A Meta-Analysis," MPRA Paper 102598, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. Asatryan, Zareh & Gomtsyan, David, 2020. "The incidence of VAT evasion," ZEW Discussion Papers 20-027, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    13. Cazachevici, Alina & Havranek, Tomas & Horvath, Roman, 2019. "Remittances and Economic Growth: A Quantitative Survey," EconStor Preprints 205812, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    14. Nicoletta Berardi & Patrick Sevestre & Marine Tépaut & Alexandre Vigneron, 2016. "The impact of a ‘soda tax’ on prices: evidence from French micro data," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(41), pages 3976-3994, September.
    15. Asatryan, Zareh & Havlik, Annika & Heinemann, Friedrich & Nover, Justus, 2020. "Biases in fiscal multiplier estimates," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    16. Vinish Shrestha & Sara Markowitz, 2016. "The Pass-Through Of Beer Taxes To Prices: Evidence From State And Federal Tax Changes," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 54(4), pages 1946-1962, October.
    17. Markus Gehrsitz & Henry Saffer & Michael Grossman, 2020. "The Effect of Changes in Alcohol Tax Differentials on Alcohol Consumption," NBER Working Papers 27117, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    18. Snyder, Christopher & Zhuo, Ran, 2018. "Sniff Tests in Economics: Aggregate Distribution of Their Probability Values and Implications for Publication Bias," MetaArXiv 8vdrh, Center for Open Science.
    19. Jianhua Duan & Kuntal K. Das & Laura Meriluoto & W. Robert Reed, 2019. "Spillovers and Exports: A Meta-Analysis," Working Papers in Economics 19/03, University of Canterbury, Department of Economics and Finance.
    20. Finkelstein, Eric A. & Zhen, Chen & Bilger, Marcel & Nonnemaker, James & Farooqui, Assad M. & Todd, Jessica E., 2013. "Implications of a sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) tax when substitutions to non-beverage items are considered," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 219-239.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    meta-analysis; fixed-effects; random-effects; publication bias; excise taxes; pass-through rate; alcohol;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C18 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General - - - Methodolical Issues: General
    • C52 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric Modeling - - - Model Evaluation, Validation, and Selection
    • H21 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Efficiency; Optimal Taxation
    • H22 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Incidence
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:zbw:ifwedp:20201. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: (ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/iwkiede.html .

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service hosted by the Research Division of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis . RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.