Consumption responses to sweetened beverage taxes by household income in four U.S. cities.

Taxes on sweetened beverages have become an important policy response to growing obesity rates and the prevalence of type 2 diabetes in the U.S. and other nations. Since 2015, eight U.S. cities have implemented these taxes, but so far direct evidence of their impacts on household purchasing behavior is scarce. Of particular interest to many researchers and policy makers is the response of lower-income consumers to these taxes, both because they have higher sweetened beverage consumption on average and because of concerns that sweetened beverage taxes are regressive. This project investigates the income-stratified household response to SSB taxes using a data set containing the purchasing behavior of approximately 400 households in the cities of Seattle, San Francisco, Oakland, and Philadelphia, all of which have recently introduced beverage taxes. Using doubly-robust estimation of dynamic and heterogeneous treatment effects relative to a propensity-matched set of households in three comparison cities, we find that households in taxed cities experience increased prices and reduce their purchases of those beverages, with no evidence of cross-border shopping. We further find differential tax impacts by income level, with lower-income households (households with income <200% of the federal poverty line for their size) reducing their purchases of taxed beverages by nearly 50% - more than double the 18% reduction found in higher-income households (households with income >400% of the federal poverty line for their size). Our finding that lower-income households decrease their consumption more than twice as much as higher-income households suggests that these taxes may reduce health disparities and promote population health.

How do environmental taxes affect the environmental investment of high-emission enterprises: Evidence from China.

Countries worldwide have adopted environmental taxes to reduce pollution, making it essential for policymakers and researchers to understand their impact on corporate environmental investment. This study investigates the impact of China's environmental tax law on the environmental investment behavior of high-emission enterprises, using a Difference-in-Differences (DID) approach based on a quasi-natural experiment. The findings reveal that environmental taxes significantly incentivize these enterprises to increase their environmental investments, with the proportion of investment relative to total assets rising by approximately 82% compared to low-emission firms. This effect remains robust after controlling for various tests, including parallel trends, placebo tests, and Propensity Score Matching (PSM) tests, as well as excluding firms that never disclosed pollutant discharge tax payments or expected effects. Motivation analysis shows that high-emission enterprises are driven primarily by the goal of reducing pollution costs to engage in environmental governance. Mechanism analysis indicates that the implementation of environmental taxes strengthens corporate governance, further encouraging environmental governance activities. Cross-sectional analysis reveals that these effects are most pronounced in firms with high financing constraints, elevated operating costs, or low profitability. Additionally, environmental investment is found to enhance corporate productivity, net sales margins, and social evaluations. This study enhances the understanding of how environmental regulation influences corporate behavior, offering empirical evidence that environmental taxes foster sustainable practices and enhance corporate performance.

How to get green with agricultural footprint: A global analysis of carbon emissions, environmental taxes, and agrochemical use.

The agriculture sector, being highly vulnerable to climate change, plays a pivotal role in achieving green and sustainable economies. As the 2030 Agenda emphasizes the integrated development of environmental, social, and economic dimensions, it is crucial to understand how agricultural practices affect sustainability. This study investigates the environmental impact of the agricultural sector on the green economy by examining key environmental factors, such as agricultural energy emissions, environmental taxes, irrigated water use efficiency, fertilizer use, and pesticide application. The analysis is conducted using the Panel Quantile Autoregressive Distributed Lag (QARDL) model, with robustness checks performed through the comparison with the Panel ARDL model, using data from 2000 to 2020. To assess the green economy, an index is constructed based on 20 indicators related to environmental, social, and economic sustainability. The results show that agricultural energy emissions, despite their environmental cost, are positively associated with green economy development, highlighting the trade-off between high productivity and environmental degradation in a resource-efficient economy. Improved water use efficiency is found to enhance agricultural sustainability and production. Additionally, environmental taxes and regulations exert a significant positive effect on both environmental preservation and social welfare. Contrary to the belief that reducing agricultural production will lower carbon emissions, the study suggests that adopting environmentally friendly practices and imposing targeted taxes are more effective strategies. The findings also reveal a negative relationship between excessive fertilizer use and the green economy, indicating the need for minimal fertilizer application to promote sustainability. The study concludes with specific policy recommendations. Governments, particularly in countries that have not yet adopted sustainable agricultural practices, should implement environmental taxes and regulations to promote carbon neutrality and support the Sustainable Development Goals. These measures are essential to balancing economic growth, environmental sustainability, and social equity in the agricultural sector.

Exploring the impact of renewable energy, green taxes and trade openness on carbon neutrality: New insights from BRICS countries.

The world faces two significant challenges: promoting sustainable economic growth and reaching carbon neutrality. In BRICS countries, these challenges are shaped by renewable energy, green taxes, and trade openness. These countries were selected for their strategic location and the abundance of relevant data collected over the period of 1990-2021, providing a distinctive window into the energy and economic dynamics of the area. The link between renewable energy consumption, green taxes, trade openness, and natural resources and their effects on carbon emissions in BRICS countries is examined in this study using the Fully Modified Ordinary Least Square Method (FMOLS) estimator and the Drisc Kraay estimator for the robustness test. The findings indicate that using renewable energy and green taxes primarily contribute to reducing emissions, particularly at higher emissions levels. The study reveals that various factors, namely financial globalization, trade openness, efficient resource management, and population growth, substantially impact carbon neutrality. Population growth positively impacts carbon neutrality, while using renewable energy sources mitigates it. Furthermore, the empirical findings show a statistically significant positive association between financial globalization, efficient resource management, and carbon neutrality in BRICS nations. Therefore, it is necessary to implement an integrated ecological governance strategy to control and direct financial resources towards sustainable development and green energy.

Obstacles and appeal of environmental taxation: Insights from sub-Saharan Africa.

Increasing the slow pace of adoption of environmental taxes across low-income countries has become a significant priority among international financial institutions, multilateral development banks, and international donors. Yet little is known about the practical institutional, administrative, and political obstacles that have led to their slow implementation and how they can be made more appealing, especially across sub-Saharan Africa. Based on a review of the literature and 16 in-depth interviews with ministries of finance, revenue authorities, and other government representatives across six African countries, this paper provides exploratory evidence of these stakeholders' view about environmental taxes deployment in their countries' context. By increasing the visibility of these policymakers' opinions and priorities, this study aims to individuate areas in which further research can provide support for the introduction of environmental fiscal measures. While there are differences across the countries covered, a lack of data and analytical capacity to develop effective environmental taxes is a common theme, as well as the historical prioritisation of their revenue mobilisation capacity over their environmental impact. A great variety of government actors with a mandate over natural resources, often with competing policy priorities, coupled with a lack of coordination fora, has also impeded the harmonisation of the environmental charges they levy. These measures are also often perceived to be regressive and to pose an obstacle to industrial development, lowering their appeal, given that poverty reduction and employment creation are an overarching priority. Nonetheless, support for introducing specific environmental tax measures exists across the population and policymakers, especially if their revenue can be earmarked for environmental purposes.

The dark side of climate policy uncertainty: Hindering energy transition by shaping environmental taxes effectiveness.

Climate policy uncertainty (CPU) may have an adverse impact on the environment by interfering with the effectiveness of environmental policies, but there is currently little evidence to support this indirect effect. By incorporating CPU into the transition function, this paper utilizes the panel smooth transition regression (PSTR) to dynamically analyze how CPU affects the relationship between environmental taxes (ETR) and energy transition. When CPU exceeds the threshold, the promoting effect of ETR on energy transition weakens or reverses. The robustness of the main conclusions is demonstrated by establishing a PSTR estimator with the instrumental variable. This paper also constructs a counterfactual scenario, showing that CPU reduces the positive impact of ETR on renewable energy consumption and generation by 7.6% and 3.5%, respectively. Further analysis indicates that this negative effect arises because CPU likely increases investment risk, particularly for long-term green projects, thereby inhibiting the clean energy market and energy-related green technological innovation. Heterogeneity analysis find that the weakening effect of CPU on the effectiveness of ETR is stronger in countries with low energy resource endowment, high energy intensity, and lower economic development levels, underscoring the need for tailored policy approaches. This research emphasizes that for countries with ambitious energy transition goals, climate policy stability is crucial for ensuring the healthy development of environmental taxes policy and renewable energy markets.

A Mixed-Methods Exploration of the Implementation of Policies That Earmarked Taxes for Behavioral Health.

Policy Points Earmarked tax policies for behavioral health are perceived as having positive impacts related to increasing flexible funding, suggesting benefits to expand this financing approach. Implementation challenges related to these earmarked taxes included tax base volatility that impedes long-term service delivery planning and inequities in the distribution of tax revenue. Recommendations for designing or revising earmarked tax policies include developing clear guidelines and support systems to manage the administrative aspects of earmarked tax programs, cocreating reporting and oversight structures with system and service delivery agents, and selecting revenue streams that are relatively stable across years. CONTEXT: Over 200 cities and counties in the United States have implemented policies earmarking tax revenue for behavioral health services. This mixed-methods study was conducted with the aim of characterizing perceptions of the impacts of these earmarked tax policies, strengths and weaknesses of tax policy designs, and factors that influence decision making about how tax revenue is allocated for services. METHODS: Study data came from surveys completed by 274 officials involved in behavioral health earmarked tax policy implementation and 37 interviews with officials in a sample of jurisdictions with these taxes-California (n = 16), Washington (n = 12), Colorado (n = 6), and Iowa (n = 3). Interviews primarily explored perceptions of the advantages and drawbacks of the earmarked tax, perceptions of tax policy design, and factors influencing decisions about revenue allocation. FINDINGS: A total of 83% of respondents strongly agreed that it was better to have the tax than not, 73.2% strongly agreed that the tax increased flexibility to address complex behavioral health needs, and 65.1% strongly agreed that the tax increased the number of people served by evidence-based practices. Only 43.3%, however, strongly agreed that it was easy to satisfy tax-reporting requirements. Interviews revealed that the taxes enabled funding for services and implementation supports, such as training in the delivery of evidence-based practices, and supplemented mainstream funding sources (e.g., Medicaid). However, some interviewees also reported challenges related to volatility of funding, inequities in the distribution of tax revenue, and, in some cases, administratively burdensome tax reporting. Decisions about tax revenue allocation were influenced by goals such as reducing behavioral health care inequities, being responsive to community needs, addressing constraints of mainstream funding sources, and, to a lesser degree, supporting services considered to be evidence based. CONCLUSIONS: Earmarked taxes are a promising financing strategy to improve access to, and quality of, behavioral health services by supplementing mainstream state and federal financing.

Environmental taxes, energy transition and sustainable environmental technologies: A comparative OECD region climate change analysis.

The integrated economic reforms in recent years have transformed human life, however, the subsequent rise in environmental challenges necessitates sustainable development goals to ensure net-zero transformation. Within the context of modern energy, economic, and environmental transformation, we deliberate how environmental taxes, energy transition, and sustainable environmental innovation impact climate change in 38 OECD economies. Our robust empirical investigation allows us to report that environmental taxation, sustainable environmental technology, and energy transition lower but GDP and trade openness exacerbate ecological challenges. We also divide the dataset in G7 and the rest of the OECD groups to document the varying impact of environmental policies within OECD economies. Our econometric analysis helps us report novel policy frameworks to solve climate challenges under the UN SDG agenda.

Estimating the annual production data of bidi sticks in India using the "back-of-the-envelop-method".

The Indian bidi industry is largely unorganised with poorly implemented regulations along with laxed taxations. The unaccounted production of bidi sticks might potentiate its illicit circulation and therefore, unchecked availability to the minors. Specific production estimates may lead to stricter compliance with the existing regulatory norms. Due to the paucity of evidence and wide variability in production numbers, this estimation of the exact number of bidi sticks produced annually within the country was conducted. The annual number of produced sticks were estimated using the available literature till May 2023, on: a) the quantity of auctioned tendu leaves, b) number of bidi rollers, and c) bidi tobacco cultivated. Around 10 % attritions were considered during each stage of the manufacturing process to arrive at the production estimates. Annual bidi stick production was estimated as a) 319.83 billion, b) 600 billion to 1 trillion, and c) 974 billion to 1.19 trillion. This research provides a crucial estimate of the alarming number of bidi sticks produced and address the significant gap in reliable data of production figures. These insights underscore the urgency for stringent policy measures and regulation of bidi industry to safeguard health and curtail illicit practices.

The price elasticity of heated tobacco and cigarette demand: Empirical evaluation across countries.

The market for heated tobacco products (HTPs) has grown rapidly in recent years, and many governments have started to include HTPs in tax codes to regulate their use. Currently, the evidence on how HTP prices impact tobacco use behaviors or whether consumers consider them as economic substitutes for cigarettes is lacking. This study is the first to answer these questions with a unique database to assess the own- and cross- price elasticities of HTP and cigarette demand. We collect a unique database of quarterly retail prices and sales of heated tobacco units and comparable scale cigarettes from 2014 to 2022, available for most countries where both HTPs and cigarettes are sold, and estimate the own- and cross- price elasticities of cigarette and HTP demand using a seemingly unrelated regression model. We find that HTP demand is price elastic (i.e., sensitive to prices) and has an own-price elasticity of -1.2 to -1.3, about four times greater than the own-price elasticity of cigarettes, which is about -0.3. We also find that cigarettes and HTPs are weak economic substitutes: while HTP demand is responsive to higher cigarette prices, cigarette demand is not sensitive to HTP prices. Our results suggest that tax policies that increase HTP and cigarette prices simultaneously will reduce HTP consumption without increasing cigarette consumption.

Interaction Between State-Level Cigarette Prices and County-Level Tobacco 21 Coverage on Cigarette Smoking Outcomes Among US Adolescents.

PURPOSE: To examine whether Tobacco 21 (T21) law coverage moderated associations between cigarette prices and adolescent smoking and associated disparities. METHODS: We used nationally representative, repeated cross-sectional 2014-2020 Monitoring the Future study data (n = 20,547-96,083) to examine associations between state-level average cigarette price per pack and county-level T21 coverage (100% vs. < 100%) on past 30-day smoking participation, first and daily cigarette smoking initiation, and smoking intentions in US adolescents in eighth, 10th, and 12th grade. We implemented weighted, grade-stratified, modified Poisson regression models to test for interactions between price and T21 coverage for each outcome. We also tested for disparities by sex, race and ethnicity, parental education, and college educational expectations. RESULTS: Higher cigarette prices were associated with a lower probability of past 30-day smoking participation among eighth graders in counties with < 100% T21 coverage (average marginal effect = -0.003, 95% confidence interval = -0.006, 0.000) but not among eighth graders in counties with 100% T21 coverage (average marginal effect = 0.001, 95% confidence interval = -0.001, 0.004) (p for interaction = 0.005). There were no associations with other smoking outcomes or grades or evidence of differential associations by sociodemographic factors. DISCUSSION: Our findings suggested that higher cigarette prices were associated with lower adolescent smoking among eighth graders living in counties with < 100% T21 coverage. However, no such association was observed in other grades or smoking outcomes. Further investigation is necessary to determine the best combination of policies to reduce adolescent smoking, related sociodemographic disparities, and the use of other tobacco products in areas with fewer tobacco control policies.

"Don't think of a soda": Contradictory public health messaging from a content analysis of Twitter posts about sugar-sweetened beverage taxes in California from 2015 to 2018.

To show how sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) taxes were framed in posts on Twitter (now known as X) through text and images, we conducted a content analysis on a sample of Tweets from California users posted between January 1, 2015 and December 31, 2018 about SSB taxes in Berkeley, San Francisco, Oakland, and/or Albany, California. We evaluated posts for information sources, arguments for or against SSB tax policies, and images used. We found that posts presented a mix of messages through text and images. The majority of posts (64%) included arguments supporting SSB taxes, 28% presented a neutral position (e.g., factual information) or a mix of both pro-and anti-tax arguments, and 8% opposed. One-third of posts included an image, almost half of which appeared to be stock photos from SSB advertisements: many of these were shared by medical and public health users. Some tax supporters also reposted messages and images from opposition campaigns and added their own criticisms. By reposting opponents' anti-tax messages and images of SSBs, tax supporters may have inadvertently promoted SSBs, reinforced opposition to SSB taxes, and normalized SSBs. While advocates effectively shared pro-tax arguments, they should also ensure that accompanying images reflect the solutions they seek, not just the problem they are trying to combat.

An Evaluation of Healthy Hydration Recommendations for 93 Countries with Sugary Beverage Tax Legislation Globally, 2000-2023.

Adequate water intake is essential for human health. Sugary beverage taxes are a best buy policy to reduce obesity and diet-related non-communicable diseases. Food-based dietary guidelines (FBDGs) promote healthy dietary patterns. The study purpose was to evaluate national FBDGs for countries with sugary beverage tax legislation (2000-2023) to promote water and discourage sugary beverage consumption. We developed a coding framework to conduct a content analysis of FBDG documents, and used six indicators to identify messages and images to assign healthy hydration recommendation (HHR) scores from 0-12 to compare FBDGs across countries and six regions. Results showed 93 countries with sugary beverage tax legislation of which 58 countries (62%) had published FBDGs (1998-2023). Of 58 FBDGs reviewed, 48 (83%) had complementary recommendations that encouraged water and discouraged sugary beverages. Of 93 countries, 13 (14%) had the highest HHR scores (11-12); 22, (24%) had high HHR scores (9-10); 20 (21%) had medium HHR scores (4-8); 3 (3%) had low HHR scores (0-3); and 35 (38%) countries had no FBDGs. To reduce health risks for populations, governments must ensure policy coherence to optimize sugary beverage tax impacts by developing FBDGs that encourage water and discourage sugary beverages complementary to national policies.

Evolving waste management: The impact of environmental technology, taxes, and carbon emissions on incineration in EU countries.

Amid the urgent global imperatives concerning climate change and resource preservation, our research delves into the critical domains of waste management and environmental sustainability within the European Union (EU), collecting data from 1990 to 2022. The Method of Moments Quantile Regression (MMQR) results reveal a resounding commitment among EU member states to diminish their reliance on incineration, which is evident through adopting green technologies and environmentally conscious taxation policies, aligning with the European Union's sustainability objectives. However, this transition presents the intricate task of harmonizing industrial emissions management with efficient waste disposal. Tailoring waste management strategies to accommodate diverse consumption patterns and unique circumstances within individual member states becomes imperative. Cointegrating regressions highlighted the long-run relationship among the selected variables, while Feasible Generalized Least Squares (FGLS) and Panel-Corrected Standard Errors (PCSE) estimates roughly confirmed MMQR results. ML analyses, conducted through two ensemble methods (Gradient Boosting, GB, and Extreme Gradient Boosting, XGBoost) shed light on the relative importance of the predictors: in particular, environmental taxation, consumption-based emissions, and production-based emissions greatly contribute to determining the variation of combustible renewables and waste. This study recommends that EU countries establish monitoring mechanisms to advance waste management and environmental sustainability through green technology adoption, enhance environmental taxation policies, and accelerate the renewable energy transition.

Increased taxes and regulation of Indian cigarillos (bidi) industry: Effects on revenue and years of life lost.

INTRODUCTION: Indian cigarillos (bidi) are low-cost alternatives to cigarettes with only 22% imposed taxes, and turnover of upto INR 4 million per annum exempted from taxation. This paper estimates revenue implications and potential loss of life years (YLLs) averted, if bidi industry is subjected to increased regulations and taxation. METHODS: Revenue estimated at 10% increased regulation and 100% regulation were calculated, followed by estimates at taxes equivalent to cigarettes and World Health Organization - Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO-FCTC) recommendation. Price elasticity was considered to assess demand. Price change in separate fractions (previously regulated and unregulated) were calculated to obtain potential YLLs averted. RESULTS: Current revenue of USD 59.25 million is projected to increase to USD 179.25 million with 695,159 averted YLLs at cigarette equivalent taxes and 10% increased regulation; USD 639.38 million with 4,527,597 averted YLLs with 100% regulation; USD 54.75 million, at WHO recommended taxes with 2,233,740 YLLs averted at 10% increased regulation, and 10,486,192 YLLs at 100% regulation. CONCLUSION: Proposed estimates are inline with WHO recommendations as they consider price elasticity and suggest substantial increase in revenue, while averting YLLs. A national action is needed to drive the policy decisions towards increased regulation and taxation and revision of India's tobacco control legislation. IMPLICATIONS: Our study presented empirical evidence of how the currently underutilized tool of taxation, as proposed in the WHO-FCTC, can be utilized to decrease bidi smoking prevalence and save measurable life years while generating government revenue simultaneously. While the revenue statistics counter the misleading tobacco industry narratives, the projected reduction in mortality will be seen as an irrefutable driving force for policy reforms, targeted at strategic increase in regulation and taxation of the traditional Indian cigarillos industry.

Exposure to cigarette taxes as a teenager and the persistence of smoking into adulthood.

Are teenage and adult smoking causally related? Recent anti-tobacco policy is predicated on the assumption that preventing teenagers from smoking will ensure that fewer adults smoke, but direct evidence in support of this assumption is scant. Using data from three nationally representative sources and instrumenting for teenage smoking with cigarette taxes experienced at ages 14-17, we document a strong positive relationship between teenage and adult smoking: deterring 10 teenagers from smoking through raising cigarette taxes roughly translates into 5 fewer adult smokers. We conclude that efforts to reduce teenage smoking can have long-lasting consequences on smoking participation and, presumably, health.

The impact of Chinese foreign direct investment and environmental tax revenues on air degradation in Europe: a spatial regression approach, 2000-2020.

This study analyzes air pollution through the effects of China's FDI in 27 European countries over a 20-year period, with a focus on the impact of environmental tax revenues (ETRs) and the environmental context in China. The relationship is estimated through spatial regressions that account for the presence of air pollutants in neighboring countries. The findings suggest that China's FDI in Europe does not contribute to air pollution but rather has a positive impact. The presence of environmental charges filters out non-polluting investments, which has a non-linear relationship with PM2.5 pollution rates. The study also concludes that air pollution is closely linked to the global environmental context, highlighting the positive effects of international agreements in the fight against climate change. Specifically, the study finds a link between China's efforts to address its polluting activities and their impact on European air quality.

Relationship Between Product Features and the Prices of e-Cigarette Devices Sold in Web-Based Vape Shops: Comparison Study Using a Linear Regression Model.

BACKGROUND: Open-system electronic cigarette (EC) product features, such as battery capacity, maximum output wattage, and so forth, are major components that drive product costs and may influence use patterns. Moreover, continued innovation and monitoring of product features and prices will provide critical information for designing appropriate taxation policies and product regulations. OBJECTIVE: This study will examine how product features are associated with the prices of devices sold in web-based vape shops. METHODS: We draw samples from 5 popular, US-based, web-based vape shops from April to August 2022 to examine starter kits, device-only products, and e-liquid container-only products. We implemented a linear regression model with a store-fixed effect to examine the association between device attributes and prices. RESULTS: EC starter kits or devices vary significantly by type, with mod prices being much higher than pod and vape pen prices. The prices of mod starter kits were even lower than those of mod devices, suggesting that mod starter kits are discounted in web-based vape shops. The price of mod kits, mod device-only products, and pod kits increased as the battery capacity and output wattage increased. For vape pens, the price was positively associated with the volume size of the e-liquid container. On the other hand, the price of pod kits was positively associated with the number of containers. CONCLUSIONS: A unit-based specific tax, therefore, will impose a higher tax burden on lower-priced devices such as vape pens or pod systems and a lower tax burden on mod devices. A volume- or capacity-based specific tax on devices will impose a higher tax burden on vape pens with a larger container size. Meanwhile, ad valorem taxes pegged to wholesale or retail prices would apply evenly across device types, meaning those with advanced features such as higher battery capacities and output wattage would face higher rates. Therefore, policy makers could manipulate tax rates by device type to discourage the use of certain device products.

Corrigendum: Systematic review on fiscal policy interventions in nutrition.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fnut.2022.967494.].