Sugar Taxes and Changes in Total Calorie Consumption: A Simple Framework

Arbeitspapier

This paper demonstrates the potential importance, when considering total calorie intake, of allowing for the substitution effects of imposing a selective tax on a commodity having a high sugar content, when non-taxed commodities exist and also have relatively high calorie content. A framework is presented which allows the elasticity of calorie consumption with respect to a price change to be derived. This brings out the role of relative budget shares, relative calorie content of goods and relative prices to be clearly seen, along with own- and cross-price elasticities. Their absolute values for each commodity group are not required. It is demonstrated that the focus of attention needs to be much wider than a simple concentration on the own-price elasticity of demand for the commodity group for which a sumptuary tax is envisaged.

Object Details

• ISBN: 978-0-947519-44-5
• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: New Zealand Treasury Working Paper ; No. 16/06

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Health: General ; Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents: Household
• Subject: Sugar-sweetened beverage ; calorie intake ; demand elasticity ; Zucker ; Steuer ; Konsumentenverhalten ; Ernährungsverhalten ; Steuerwirkung ; Preiselastizität ; Neuseeland

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Creedy, John
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): New Zealand Government, The Treasury
• (where): Wellington
• (when): 2016

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/205700
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:44 AM CET