Distributional Impacts of Fat Taxes and Thin Subsidies

Abstract

We conducted an experiment to study the fiscal impacts of unhealthy food taxes and healthy food subsidies on very low and medium income women in France. The policies tend to be regressive and favour higher income consumers. Unhealthy food taxes increase prices paid more for lower than higher income women. Healthy food subsidies reduce the prices paid more for higher than lower income women. The effects arise because the pre-policy diets of the higher income women tend to be healthier but also because the choices of the higher income women are more responsive to price changes.