Will Fat Taxes Cause Americans to Become Fatter? Some Evidence from US Meats

Price and income elasticities of fat from meats are estimated by decomposing composite demand for meat into the produ ct of total calories, the fraction of calories eat as fat, and a residual measure of quality. This demand-characteristic system provides estimates of the impact of prices and income on the fraction of calories eaten as fat as well as their affect on the total consumption of fat. Empirical estimates of the comp ensated own-price elasticities of meats suggest that a fat tax designed to raise revenues to finance nutritional education efforts may increase the total consumption of fat.Agricultural and Food Policy, Demand and Price Analysis, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

EVALUATING THE EFFECT OF COMMODITY DONATION PROGRAMS USING THE TRUNCATED NORMAL DISTRIBUTION

The magnitude of both the displacement of commercial sales and the increase in consumption associated with a commodity distribution program are characterized using the truncated normal distribution. This method is easier to implement and requires less data than previous methods. It is applied to data from the 1986 Survey of TEFAP Recipients and is quite accurate

CONSISTENT AGGREGATION IN FOOD DEMAND SYSTEMS

Two aggregation schemes for food demand systems are tested for consistency with the Generalized Composite Commodity Theorem (GCCT). One scheme is based on the standard CES classification of food expenditures. The second scheme is based on the Food Guide Pyramid. Evidence is found that both schemes are consistent with the GCCT.Demand and Price Analysis,

THE GENERALIZED COMPOSITE COMMODITY THEOREM AND FOOD DEMAND ESTIMATION

This paper reports tests of aggregation over consumer food products and estimates of aggregate food demand elasticities. Evidence that food demand variables follow unit root processes leads us to build on and simplify tests of the Generalized Composite Commodity Theorem found in the literature. We compute food demand elasticities using cointegration applied to a convenient but nonlinear functional form. Estimates are based on consumer reported expenditure data rather than commercial disappearance data.Demand and Price Analysis,

Price Elasticities of Demand for Food Away From Home (FAFH)

Using a procedure by Deaton (1990) and data from a cross-sectional survey by CREST price elasticities of demand for three types of FAFH facilities are computed

The Effect of Food Stamps and Income on Household Food Expenditures

This report, reexamining past estimates of tile effect of income and food stamp benefits on food expenditures, finds that a cash-only Food Stamp Program would result in a significant reduction in food expenditures, although smaller than suggested, by some previous results. Most prior studies found spending on food from marginal food stamp benefits to be several times greater than from marginal income, suggesting that cashing out the Food Stamp Program could greatly reduce food expenditures. The present study finds a 10-cent reduction in food spending for each dollar of food stamp benefits converted to a cash payment. Previous specifications of the-food expenditure equation plus one based on the translog specification are estimated using data·from the 1979-80 Nationwide Food Consumption Survey, Low Income Sample. In contrast to prior studies, the structural relationship of food stamp benefits to income is explicitly modeled. The report demonstrates that the functional form of the food expenditure equation was important in obtaining results previously reported

The Role of Functional Form in Estimating the Effect of a Cash-Only Food Stamp Program

Larger marginal impacts on household food spending come from food stamps than from equivalent cash income, according to previous studies. These studies have been limited, however, in using food expenditure equations that are linear in the coefficients, placing prior constraints on the estimated marginal propensities to spend (MPS) from cash and from stamps. This article re-examines the earlier MPS estimates in light of a more general and flexible food expenditure equation, comparing estimates from a common data set under alternative functional forms. The article estimates changes in food spending that would result under each functional form from "cashing out" food stamps, and replacing stamps with equivalent cash benefits. Results show that MPS estimates vary widely depending on functional form, past estimates tended to substantially exaggerate the cash-out effect in reducing food spending, and the most general, consistent, and flexible forms show a 10-cent reduction in food spending for each dollar of food-stamp benefit shifted to a cash payment

THE EFFECT OF AN ELECTRONIC BENEFIT TRANSFER (EBT) SYSTEM ON FOOD EXPENDITURE OF FOOD STAMP RECIPIENTS: EVIDENCE FROM THE MARYLAND STATEWIDE IMPLEMENTATION

Survey data before and after the statewide implementation of an Electronic Benefit Transfer system in Maryland is used to estimate the impact of this system on net food expenditure out of Food Stamp Program (FSP) benefits and income. A reduction in the net food expenditure from FSP benefits relative to income reduces the FSP's ability to target food expenditure