Food Choices and Response to Public Policies: New Evidence on the Behavioral Dimension
Paper Session
Friday, Jan. 3, 2025 8:00 AM - 10:00 AM (PST)
- Chair: Beatrice Biondi, University of Bologna
The Effect of Soda Taxes: Testing for Heterogeneity by Health Conditions
Abstract
This study estimates the impact of taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) and tests for heterogeneity in these effects by whether individuals have diet-related chronic health conditions (diabetes or obesity), which affect the externalities and internalities associated with SSB consumption. We combine information on health conditions from the Nielsen Annual Ailments, Health, and Wellness Survey with purchases from the Nielsen Consumer Panel Data and nutrition information from the USDA’s FoodData Central, and examine changes over time in the presence of SSB taxes in various U.S. cities in order to estimate the heterogeneous impacts of these taxes.Food Purchasing Choices as an Indicator of Stress and Mental Health: Evidence from the Italian COVID-19 Lockdown and Post-lockdown Periods
Abstract
This empirical study explores whether monitoring of food purchasing behaviours may serve as a rapid indicator of the degree of stress, anxiety and mental health in a (sub)-population. Using household-scanner data for Italy and causal inference methods, the study exploits the natural experiment of the 2020 Covid19 lockdowns in Italy to identify changes in consumption patterns for a variety of foods and drinks that are potentially associated with psychological discomfort.Discussant(s)
Aleks Schaefer
,
Oklahoma State University
Melanie Luhrmann
,
University of London
Birgitta Rabe
,
University of Essex
Elena Zeballos
,
United States Department of Agriculture
JEL Classifications
- A1 - General Economics