Evaluation of Local-Level Sweetened Beverage Taxation in the US
Summary
This evaluation studies sweetened beverage taxation in jurisdictions across the US, including Oakland, CA; Seattle, WA; Cook County, IL; King County, WA; Philadelphia County, PA; and San Francisco County, CA. We look at each taxing jurisdiction before and after the tax goes into effect and compare it to a similar jurisdiction without the tax to answer seven primary research questions. To evaluate the specific questions outlined below, the research team is using food outlet environmental audits, retail-level scanner data, national and publicly available datasets, and key informant interviews.
Research Questions Heading link
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Tax Pass-Through
How much of the sweetened beverage tax is passed-through to consumers in the form of higher prices for taxed beverages?
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Sales
Are there retail changes in the sales and volume sold of taxed beverages following the implementation of a sweetened beverage tax?
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Substitution
Are there retail changes in the sales and volume sold of untaxed beverages, alcohol, snacks, and sweets following the implementation of a sweetened beverage tax?
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Marketing
Do retailers change marketing strategies and price promotions on taxed and untaxed beverages following the implementation of a sweetened beverage tax?
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Cross Border Shopping
Do individuals avoid the sweetened beverage tax by shopping in bordering areas that do not have a tax?
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Employment
Are there changes in employment overall or in specific industries following the implementation of a sweetened beverage tax?
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Revenue
Are there differences in the amount of revenue raised by jurisdiction?
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Implementation
What successes and challenges to sweetened beverage tax implementation should be shared with other jurisdictions considering a tax?
Our Team Heading link
| Principal Investigator | Lisa M. Powell, PhD |
| Co-Investigators |
Frank Chaloupka, PhD
Jamie Chriqui, PhD, MHS Marcus Dillender, PhD Pierre T. Léger, PhD Vanessa Oddo, PhD Oksana Pugach, PhD Shannon N. Zenk, PhD, MPH, RN |
| Staff |
Yuka Asada, PhD, RD
Julien Leider, MA Andrea Pipito, MS |
| Research Assistants |
Yu Li MBA, MPP Samantha Marinello, MS Vinitha Varghese, MA |