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The impact of Seattle’s Sweetened Beverage Tax on beverage prices and volume sold

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  • Powell, Lisa M.
  • Leider, Julien

Abstract

On January 1, 2018 the city of Seattle, WA, implemented a 1.75-cent per ounce (oz) Sweetened Beverage Tax (SBT) on sugar-sweetened beverages with at least 40 calories per 12 oz. This study drew on universal product code-level store scanner data and used a pre-post intervention-comparison site difference-in-differences (DID) study design to assess the impact of the SBT on taxed beverage prices in Seattle, the volume sold of taxed beverages in Seattle and in its 2-mile border area (cross-border shopping), and the volume sold of untaxed beverages (substitution) relative to changes in its comparison site of Portland, OR. The DID results showed that, on average, in the first year post-tax implementation, prices of taxed beverages rose by 1.03 cents per oz (p < 0.001) corresponding to a 59% tax pass-through rate. Volume sold of taxed beverages fell, on average, by 22% (p < 0.001) in the first year following the implementation of the tax. Volume sold of taxed beverages fell to a greater extent for family- versus individual-size beverages (31% versus 10%) and fell to a greater extent for soda (29%) compared to all other beverage types. Moderate substitution to untaxed beverages was found – volume sold of untaxed beverages increased by 4% (p < 0.05). The results revealed no significant increases in the overall volume sold of taxed beverages in the 2-mile border area of Seattle relative to its comparison site suggesting that tax avoidance in the form of cross-border shopping did not dampen the impact of the tax.

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  • Powell, Lisa M. & Leider, Julien, 2020. "The impact of Seattle’s Sweetened Beverage Tax on beverage prices and volume sold," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 37(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ehbiol:v:37:y:2020:i:c:s1570677x19302758
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ehb.2020.100856
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    Cited by:

    1. Zagorsky, Jay L. & Smith, Patricia K., 2020. "Who drinks soda pop? Economic status and adult consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 38(C).
    2. Jones-Smith, Jessica C. & Pinero Walkinshaw, Lina & Oddo, Vanessa M. & Knox, Melissa & Neuhouser, Marian L. & Hurvitz, Philip M. & Saelens, Brian E. & Chan, Nadine, 2020. "Impact of a sweetened beverage tax on beverage prices in Seattle, WA," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 39(C).
    3. Leider, Julien & Powell, Lisa M., 2022. "Longer-term impacts of the Oakland, California, sugar-sweetened beverage tax on prices and volume sold at two-years post-tax," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 292(C).
    4. Haeck, Catherine & Lawson, Nicholas & Poirier, Krystel, 2022. "Estimating consumer preferences for different beverages using the BLP approach," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 46(C).
    5. Zhen, Chen & Chen, Yu & Lin, Biing-Hwan & Karns, Shawn & Mancino, Lisa & Ver Ploeg, Michele, 2021. "Do Obese and Nonobese Consumers Respond Differently to Price Changes? Implications of Preference Heterogeneity for Using Food Taxes and Subsidies to Reduce Obesity," MPRA Paper 112697, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Brendon McConnell, 2023. "What's Logs Got to do With it: On the Perils of log Dependent Variables and Difference-in-Differences," Papers 2308.00167, arXiv.org, revised Aug 2023.
    7. Pourya Valizadeh & Shu Wen Ng, 2021. "Would A National Sugar‐Sweetened Beverage Tax in the United States Be Well Targeted?," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 103(3), pages 961-986, May.
    8. Lisa M Powell & Julien Leider, 2022. "Impact of the Seattle Sweetened Beverage Tax on substitution to alcoholic beverages," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 17(1), pages 1-10, January.
    9. Pan, Yuxuan & Fan, Linlin & Goetz, Stephan J., 2024. "The Effect of Soda Taxes on Beverage and Candy Purchases," 2024 Annual Meeting, July 28-30, New Orleans, LA 343984, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    10. Felipe Lozano‐Rojas & Patrick Carlin, 2022. "The effect of soda taxes beyond beverages in Philadelphia," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(11), pages 2381-2410, November.
    11. John Cawley & David Frisvold & David Jones & Chelsea Lensing, 2021. "The Pass‐Through of a Tax on Sugar‐Sweetened Beverages in Boulder, Colorado," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 103(3), pages 987-1005, May.
    12. Zhang, Ying & Li, Ruotong & Zhao, Qiran & Fan, Shenggen, 2023. "The impact of peer effect on students' consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages- instrumental variable evidence from north China," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    13. Yichen Zhong & Amy H. Auchincloss & Brian K. Lee & Ryan M. McKenna & Brent A. Langellier, 2020. "Sugar-Sweetened and Diet Beverage Consumption in Philadelphia One Year after the Beverage Tax," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(4), pages 1-12, February.
    14. Cawley, John & Frisvold, David, 2023. "Review: Taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages: Political economy, and effects on prices, purchases, and consumption," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 117(C).
    15. John Cawley & David Frisvold & David Jones, 2020. "The impact of sugar‐sweetened beverage taxes on purchases: Evidence from four city‐level taxes in the United States," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(10), pages 1289-1306, October.
    16. Zhai, Tianchang & Li, Lei & Wang, Jingjing & Si, Wei, 2022. "Will the consumption tax on sugar-sweetened beverages help promote healthy beverage consumption? Evidence from urban China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    17. Marinello, Samantha & Leider, Julien & Pugach, Oksana & Powell, Lisa M., 2021. "The impact of the Philadelphia beverage tax on employment: A synthetic control analysis," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 40(C).
    18. Jones-Smith, Jessica C. & Knox, Melissa A. & Coe, Norma B. & Walkinshaw, Lina P. & Schoof, John & Hamilton, Deven & Hurvitz, Philip M. & Krieger, James, 2022. "Sweetened beverage taxes: Economic benefits and costs according to household income," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 110(C).
    19. Pierre Thomas Léger & Lisa M. Powell, 2021. "The impact of the Oakland SSB tax on prices and volume sold: A study of intended and unintended consequences," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(8), pages 1745-1771, August.
    20. Flynn, James, 2024. "Soda taxes, consumption, and health outcomes for high school students," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 234(C).
    21. Cengiz, Ezgi & Cengiz, Doruk, 2020. "The Impacts of Soda Taxes in U.S. Localities," 2020 Annual Meeting, July 26-28, Kansas City, Missouri 304351, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    22. James Flynn, 2023. "Do sugar‐sweetened beverage taxes improve public health for high school aged adolescents?," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(1), pages 47-64, January.
    23. Marissa G. Hall & Isabella C. A. Higgins & Anna H. Grummon & Allison J. Lazard & Carmen E. Prestemon & Jennifer Mendel Sheldon & Lindsey Smith Taillie, 2021. "Using a Naturalistic Store Laboratory for Clinical Trials of Point-of-Sale Nutrition Policies and Interventions: A Feasibility and Validation Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(16), pages 1-12, August.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Sugar-sweetened beverages; SSB tax; Tax pass-through; Tax policy; Fiscal policy; Cross-border shopping;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health

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