Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/230103 
Authors: 
Year of Publication: 
2020
Citation: 
[Journal:] Health Economics [ISSN:] 1099-1050 [Volume:] 29 [Issue:] 3 [Publisher:] Wiley [Place:] Hoboken, NJ [Year:] 2020 [Pages:] 353-366
Publisher: 
Wiley, Hoboken, NJ
Abstract: 
We analyze how a sales tax levied on all food products impacts the consumption of healthy food, unhealthy food, and obesity. The sales tax can stimulate the consumption of healthy meals by lowering the time costs of food preparation. Moreover, the sales tax lowers obesity under more general conditions than a tax on unhealthy food (fat tax) and a subsidy on healthy food (thin subsidy). We calibrate the model using recent consumption and time use data from the US. The thin subsidy is counterproductive and increases weight. While both the sales tax and the fat tax mitigate obesity, the former imposes a lower excess burden on consumers.
Subjects: 
fat tax
obesity
sales tax
thin subsidy
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Creative Commons License: 
cc-by Logo
Document Type: 
Article
Document Version: 
Published Version

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