Download This PaperFrom Coke to Coors: A Field Study of a Fat Tax and Its Unintended Consequences
44 Pages Posted: 9 Jun 2012 Last revised: 28 Apr 2017
Date Written: May 26, 2012
Abstract
Could taxes on soft drinks reduce obesity? To examine this, a six-month field experiment was conducted in a small American city where half of the households faced a 10% tax and half did not. The 10% tax resulted in a short-term (1-month) decrease in soft drink purchases, but there was no decrease in purchases over a 3-month or 6-month period. Moreover, in beer-purchasing households, this tax led to increased purchases of beer.
Keywords: Sugar-sweetened beverage, soft drinks, tax, substitution, obesity, beer, unintended consequences
JEL Classification: D10, H31, I18
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Wansink, Brian and Hanks, Andrew and Just, David R., From Coke to Coors: A Field Study of a Fat Tax and Its Unintended Consequences (May 26, 2012). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2079840 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2079840
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