A number of states and cities are considering the imposition of a sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) tax aimed at reducing consumption and raising tax revenue to fund anti-obesity programs. The major research question that will be addressed by this study is: What is the net employment impact of reductions in SSB consumption that would result from significant SSB taxes? This study will assist policy-makers by providing independent and more comprehensive evidence on the net employment effects of SSB taxes that correctly takes into consideration not only the reductions in SSB beverage consumption as claimed by industry, but also the job gains due to the alternative consumption of non-taxed beverages and the offsetting increase in employment from the jobs generated by the new tax revenues. This project will use the structural input-output Regional Economic Models, Inc. (REMI) model, which contains a large array of econometrically estimated parameters of the economy that will be used to simulate the implementation of SSB taxes on employment. Analyses will be undertaken for the U.S. as a whole and regionally for two states (California and Illinois) and two cities (New York City and Philadelphia). Researchers hypothesize that spending on alternative beverages and government spending associated with the tax revenue will offset job losses associated with the reduced consumption of SSBs.
Start Date: January 2011
ID #: 68637
Principal Investigator: Lisa Powell, PhD
Organization: University of Illinois at Chicago
Funding Round: Rapid-Response Round 3
Focus Areas: Beverages, Pricing & Economics
States: California, Illinois, National, New York, Pennsylvania
Resource Type: Grant Summary
Keywords: Sugar-sweetened beverages, Taxes
Related Research
February 2014
Employment Impact of Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Taxes
In the past few years, numerous state and local legislators have proposed taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) as a means of changing individuals’ behavior in order to reduce obesity and improve health. None of these proposals have succeeded thus far, hindered in part by beverage industry claims of related job losses. This paper provides a MoreFebruary 2014
Taxing Sugary Drinks: Will This Really Result in Job Losses?
Sugary drinks add large amounts of calories to the diet and are linked with obesity. Many state legislatures have tried to impose new taxes on sugary drinks, but the beverage industry has opposed such measures claiming that taxes on sugary drinks will result in regional job losses because of reduced consumption. This issue brief highlights MoreNovember 2024