GW Work

The growing problem of obesity in the U.S. has prompted calls for government action, including the imposition of a "fat tax." The author uses microeconomic theory and a cost-benefit framework to explore the pros and cons of a fat tax. She applies theories of rational and irrational consumer decision-making to obesity-related consumption decisions and presents a simple supply and demand model to suggest the likely consequences of a fat tax. The author concludes that, before implementing a fat tax, additional research is needed to determine if a fat tax is merely the latest fad or a significant policy initiative that will make real contributions to correcting a major health problem in the United States.

Author

• Southworth, Lisa

Identifier

• Volume 11

DOI

•  https://doi.org/10.4079/pp.v11i1.4121

Keyword

• Health Policy
• Policy Perspectives
• Economic Policy

Date created

• 2004

Type of Work

• Article

Rights statement

• In Copyright

GW Unit

• Trachtenberg School of Public Policy & Public Administration

Persistent URL

•  https://scholarspace.library.gwu.edu/work/5q47rp49c

License

• All rights reserved

Relationships

In Collection:

• Policy Perspectives

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