Article

Alternative fat taxes to control obesity

Clark, J. Stephen & Dittrich, O. Ludwig, 2010. “Alternative Fat Taxes to Control Obesity”, Int Adv Econ Res 16.4, 2010

The paper studies three alternative types of fat taxes to determine how effective they are in reducing obesity, and concludes that none of them are sufficiently specific in targeting obesity. Some key insights from the paper:

  • “[…] Upon the examination of the available evidence as to the effectiveness of fat taxes in reducing obesity authors conclude that all types of fat taxes are not sufficiently specific in targeting obesity. In some cases imposition of fat tax may actually lead to reversal of the intended effect. Therefore, the use of taxes to reduce obesity and promote healthy outcomes is not recommended”.

You can find the whole paper here.

Ineffective consumer behaviour, Ineffective on obesity, Taxes unfair, What others say: experts