The effects of food sales taxes on household food spending: An application of a censored cluster model

Diansheng Dong; Yuqing Zheng; Hayden Stewart

doi:10.1111/agec.12585

The effects of food sales taxes on household food spending: An application of a censored cluster model

Diansheng Dong
, Yuqing Zheng
, Hayden Stewart

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

This study proposes a model of household food spending that accounts for zero censoring and can be applied to data collected through a clustered survey design to investigate the impact of food sales taxes on three groups: households who are eligible for and participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), households who are eligible but do not participate in the program, and households who are not eligible for the program. We find that SNAP participating households are largely insensitive to grocery taxes and respond to restaurant taxes by shifting more of their food dollars towards at-home foods. Among households who are eligible for SNAP but do not participate in the program, grocery taxes reduce spending on foods purchased for at-home consumption, and thereby increase the amount of the total food budget allocated to away from home foods. This is concerning from a nutrition and health standpoint since away from home foods tend to be more calorie dense and nutritionally poorer than at home foods.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	669-684
Number of pages	16
Journal	Agricultural Economics (United Kingdom)
Volume	51
Issue number	5
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1111/agec.12585
State	Published - Sep 1 2020

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
Published 2020. This article is a U.S. government work and is in the public domain in the USA

Funding

The findings and conclusions in this article are those of the authors and should not be construed to represent any official USDA or U.S. Government determination or policy. This research was supported in part by the USDA, Food Market Branch, Economic Research Service.

Funders
USDA, Food Market Branch
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Economic Research Service

Keywords

Food Acquisition and Purchase Survey (FoodAPS)
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
cluster model
food expenditure
food tax

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Agronomy and Crop Science
Economics and Econometrics

Access to Document

10.1111/agec.12585

Cite this

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abstract = "This study proposes a model of household food spending that accounts for zero censoring and can be applied to data collected through a clustered survey design to investigate the impact of food sales taxes on three groups: households who are eligible for and participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), households who are eligible but do not participate in the program, and households who are not eligible for the program. We find that SNAP participating households are largely insensitive to grocery taxes and respond to restaurant taxes by shifting more of their food dollars towards at-home foods. Among households who are eligible for SNAP but do not participate in the program, grocery taxes reduce spending on foods purchased for at-home consumption, and thereby increase the amount of the total food budget allocated to away from home foods. This is concerning from a nutrition and health standpoint since away from home foods tend to be more calorie dense and nutritionally poorer than at home foods.",

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AU - Zheng, Yuqing

AU - Stewart, Hayden

N1 - Publisher Copyright: Published 2020. This article is a U.S. government work and is in the public domain in the USA

PY - 2020/9/1

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N2 - This study proposes a model of household food spending that accounts for zero censoring and can be applied to data collected through a clustered survey design to investigate the impact of food sales taxes on three groups: households who are eligible for and participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), households who are eligible but do not participate in the program, and households who are not eligible for the program. We find that SNAP participating households are largely insensitive to grocery taxes and respond to restaurant taxes by shifting more of their food dollars towards at-home foods. Among households who are eligible for SNAP but do not participate in the program, grocery taxes reduce spending on foods purchased for at-home consumption, and thereby increase the amount of the total food budget allocated to away from home foods. This is concerning from a nutrition and health standpoint since away from home foods tend to be more calorie dense and nutritionally poorer than at home foods.

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The effects of food sales taxes on household food spending: An application of a censored cluster model

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Funding

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Access to Document

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Cite this