An article published in the Journal of Economic Perspectives recently outlined the theoretical justifications for taxing sugary drinks. The authors … Continue reading “The economics of soda taxes”

It seems unfair to call it a sweet shop. In the shopping centre north of Charlottenberg in south-western Sweden, barely … Continue reading “Norwegian sugar tax sends sweet-lovers over border to Sweden”

Are “sin” taxes on food, soft drinks, tobacco and alcohol regressive? As my colleague Christopher Snowdon has outlined in his … Continue reading ““Sin Taxes” are aggressively regressive”

After a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages was introduced in Britain last month, campaigners wasted no time in calling for it … Continue reading “WHO proposals for new taxes on food and drinks would cost a typical UK household up to £458 per year”

‘You can’t just point at things and tax them,’ said the singer Myleene Klass to Ed Miliband in a TV … Continue reading “Sugar taxes have never worked anywhere”

Coca-Cola’s decision to shrink its bottles and raise its prices has raised eyebrows, but the economics of it are straightforward. In … Continue reading “Colour me surprised: effects of Sugar Tax exactly as predicted”

In these uncertain economic times, there is no better way for a lobbyist to get politicians’ attention than by promising … Continue reading “A thought experiment: what if everyone stopped drinking, smoking and overeating?”

While Philip Hammond hasn’t been chancellor for long, he has already adopted George Osborne’s style of giveaways – the gifts … Continue reading “It’d be a Christmas miracle if the Chancellor delivered on these three festive reforms”

David Cameron has apparently rejected the proposal for a sugar tax, and is instead to use the threat of intervention … Continue reading “On phony ‘voluntarism’ and soft compulsion”