Taxing food and beverages: Theory, evidence, and policy

Yuqing Zheng, Edward W. McLaughlin, Harry M. Kaiser

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

24 Scopus citations

Abstract

We developed a theoretical framework to examine the effect of a change in sales or excise tax on food and beverage demand after considering that consumers may have imperfect tax knowledge, are sometimes inattentive to sales tax, may not be informed of a sales tax change, and pay no sales tax on eligible food or beverages if using food stamps.We conducted simulations to assess how much the sales tax elasticity of demand should be adjusted downward from the price elasticity of demand and quantified the advantage of using an excise tax as an anti-obesity policy.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)705-723
Number of pages19
JournalAmerican Journal of Agricultural Economics
Volume95
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 2013

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
Funding for this research was provided by Cornell University Food Industry Management Program.

Keywords

  • Demand
  • Excise tax
  • Food and beverages
  • Imperfect tax knowledge
  • Misperception
  • Sales tax

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Agricultural and Biological Sciences (miscellaneous)
  • Economics and Econometrics

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