Socio-economic characteristics and the effect of taxation as a health policy instrument

Smed, Sinne; Jensen, Jørgen Dejgaard; Denver, Sigrid

doi:10.1016/j.foodpol.2007.03.002

Cited by 128 publications

(149 citation statements)

References 20 publications

(23 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

137

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Providing nutritional information (e.g. menu labelling) seems to have limited impact on food choices [2,3,15,[19][20][21][22][23], as do politically feasible food tax reforms [5][6][7][8]24].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The Impact of Meal Attributes and Nudging on Healthy Meal Consumption

Thunström¹,

Nordström²

2013

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We use a field experiment in a lunch restaurant to analyze how meal attributes and a "nudge" impact healthy labeled meal consumption. The nudge consists of increasing the salience of healthy labeled meals by placing them at the top of the menu. We find that certain meal attributes (e.g. poultry and red meat) greatly increase both sales and the market share of the healthy labeled meal. We conclude that a careful design of the healthy food supply may be efficient in encouraging healthier meal choices, e.g. supplying healthy labeled versions of popular conventional meals. We find no impact on healthy labeled meal sales from the nudge.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[1][2][3][4]). Further, research on the impact of food tax reforms implies that taxes of the magnitudes that are politically feasible are likely to have little impact on food consumption (e.g., [5][6][7][8]). In essence, information and moderate price incentives do not seem to substantially impact healthier food consumption 1 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impact of Meal Attributes and Nudging on Healthy Meal Consumption

Thunström¹,

Nordström²

2013

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…From a public health nutrition perspective, regressivity is a concern because of the negative effect of poverty on health overall (81) . However, the extent of regressivity created by public health nutrition taxation is not clear, and some studies have suggested that the poor may in fact benefit disproportionately from the health benefits resulting from economic incentives to improve diet (16,62,69) . In terms of the differential effects on consumption, Brownell et al (58) point out that in the USA both the 15-20 % drop in soft drink consumption and any associated increase in expenditure that would most likely result from a small tax is relatively minor.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…on unhealthy foods) (44) Contrary to trade liberalisation agenda Feasible if non-discriminatory and within bound rates Use of existing tariff bands will improve feasibility and acceptability Decrease tariffs (e.g. on healthy foods) (19) In line with WTO recommendations Feasible -aligns to trade liberalisation agenda More likely if existing tariff bands are used Revenue-neutral tax plus subsidy or tax Adds administrative complexity Unlikely -adds to administrative burden reduction (42,47,69) More likely if existing types and rates of taxes are used Variable taxes based on price change Adds administrative complexity Unlikely -adds to administrative burden required for dietary change (48) More likely if existing types and rates of taxes are used VAT, value-added tax; GST, goods and services tax; WTO, World Trade Organization.…”

Section: Critical Assessment Of Recommendations For Nutrition Taxationmentioning

confidence: 99%

The global context for public health nutrition taxation

Thow

Heywood

Leeder

et al. 2010

Public Health Nutr.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Objective: To assess critically the scope for public health nutrition taxation within the framework of the global tax reform agenda. Design: Review of the tax policy literature for global policy priorities relevant to public health nutrition taxation; critical analysis of proposals for public health nutrition taxation judged against the global agenda for tax reform. Setting: The global tax reform agenda shapes decisions of tax policy makers in all countries. By understanding this agenda, public health nutritionists can make feasible taxation proposals and thus improve the development, uptake and implementation of recommendations for nutrition-related taxation. Results: The priorities of the global tax reform agenda relevant to public health nutrition taxation are streamlining of taxes, adoption of value-added tax (VAT), minimisation of excise taxes (except to correct for externalities) and removal of import taxes in line with trade liberalisation policies. Proposals consistent with the global tax reform agenda have included excise taxes, extension of VAT to currently exempted (unhealthy) foods and tariff reductions for healthy foods. Conclusions: Proposals for public health nutrition taxation should (i) use existing types and rates of taxes where possible, (ii) use excise taxes that specifically address externalities, (iii) avoid differential VAT on foods and (iv) use import taxes in ways that comply with trade liberalisation priorities.

show abstract

“…different household types. Smed et al (2007) analyze the impact of tax reforms on the intake of fiber, saturated fat, and sugar across age and income groups. They find that young households have a higher elasticity of demand for saturated fat, whereas middle-aged households have a higher elasticity of demand for sugar.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Economic policies for healthier food intake: the impact on different household categories

Nordström

Thunström²

2010

Eur J Health Econ

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This paper simulates the impact across household types of fully funded tax reforms designed to increase consumers' fiber intake from grain consumption. Our results suggest that household types with the highest initial consumption share of fiber-rich productsi.e., households without children (seniors, couples without children, and single women without children) -experience the highest increase in fiber intake from these reforms. However, they also experience high increases in unhealthy nutrients from the reforms, making the net health effects difficult to evaluate. Seniors and couples without children also gain the most financially, paying less food taxes and facing, depending on the reform, either a lower price level than before the reform or a lower increase in the price level than the average household. These household types also face the lowest initial price level. Households with the lowest initial consumption share of fiber-rich productsfamilies with children -appear to gain the least financially from the reforms: they pay more food taxes and face relatively high increases in price levels. Further, in general they experience an increase in fiber intake smaller than the average household. However, they do generally see reductions in the intake of added sugar, and in many cases saturated fat, which positively affects the health of families with children, who often overconsume these nutrients.

show abstract

Socio-economic characteristics and the effect of taxation as a health policy instrument

Cited by 128 publications

References 20 publications

The Impact of Meal Attributes and Nudging on Healthy Meal Consumption

The Impact of Meal Attributes and Nudging on Healthy Meal Consumption

The global context for public health nutrition taxation

Economic policies for healthier food intake: the impact on different household categories

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About