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The causal impact of sugar taxes on soft drink sales: evidence from France and Hungary

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  • Christoph F. Kurz

    (Institute of Health Economics and Health Care Management, Helmholtz Zentrum München
    Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München)

  • Adriana N. König

    (Institute of Health Economics and Health Care Management, Helmholtz Zentrum München
    Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München)

Abstract

Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) are associated with increased body weight and obesity, which induce a wide array of health impairments such as diabetes or cardiovascular disorders. Excise taxes have been introduced to counteract SSB consumption. We investigated the effect of sugar taxes on SSB sales in Hungary and France using a synthetic control approach. For France, we found a slight decrease in SSB sales after tax implementation while overall soft drink sales increased. For Hungary, there was only a short-term decrease in SSB sales which disappeared after 2 years, leading to an overall increase in SSB sales. However, both effects are characterized by great uncertainty.

Suggested Citation

  • Christoph F. Kurz & Adriana N. König, 2021. "The causal impact of sugar taxes on soft drink sales: evidence from France and Hungary," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 22(6), pages 905-915, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:eujhec:v:22:y:2021:i:6:d:10.1007_s10198-021-01297-x
    DOI: 10.1007/s10198-021-01297-x
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    2. Thomas Eichner & Marco Runkel, 2022. "Non-Paternalistic Foundation of Sugar Taxation and Missing Markets for Sugar Content," CESifo Working Paper Series 9583, CESifo.
    3. Selina Gangl, 2021. "Do soda taxes affect the consumption and health of school-aged children? Evidence from France and Hungary," Papers 2111.14521, arXiv.org.
    4. Agnieszka Piekara, 2022. "Sugar Tax or What? The Perspective and Preferences of Consumers," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(19), pages 1-12, October.

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