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  5. Food Choices and Response to Public Policies: New Evidence on the Behavioral Dimension
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Food Choices and Response to Public Policies: New Evidence on the Behavioral Dimension

Paper Session

Friday, Jan. 3, 2025 8:00 AM - 10:00 AM (PST)

Hilton San Francisco Union Square, Union Square 23
Hosted By: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association
  • Chair: Beatrice Biondi, University of Bologna

On Nudging and Psychological Reactance

David Just
,
Cornell University
Gnel Gabrielyan
,
California Franchise Tax Board

Abstract

Nudging has been suggested as an effective means of encouraging more nutritious food choices without inducing pushback or reactance. Several have pushed back on nudging in this context, often citing only marginal or noisy effects. We test the notion that nudges avoid psychological reactance using a laboratory experiment. We replicate the results of a well known nudge that is intended to reduce the consumption of snack food. In one condition, we explain the purpose of the nudge to participants and find evidence that understanding the nudge leads to classical reactance.

The Effect of Soda Taxes: Testing for Heterogeneity by Health Conditions

David Frisvold
,
University of Iowa
John Cawley
,
Cornell University
Felipe Lozano-Rojas
,
University of Georgia

Abstract

This study estimates the impact of taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) and tests for heterogeneity in these effects by whether individuals have diet-related chronic health conditions (diabetes or obesity), which affect the externalities and internalities associated with SSB consumption. We combine information on health conditions from the Nielsen Annual Ailments, Health, and Wellness Survey with purchases from the Nielsen Consumer Panel Data and nutrition information from the USDA’s FoodData Central, and examine changes over time in the presence of SSB taxes in various U.S. cities in order to estimate the heterogeneous impacts of these taxes.

Food Purchasing Choices as Indicators of Stress and Mental Health: Insights from Italy During and After the COVID-19 Lockdown

Mario Mazzocchi
,
University of Bologna
Beatrice Biondi
,
University of Bologna

Abstract

Existing literature highlights a connection between the overconsumption of certain foods and the risk of developing depression and declining mental health. Building on this, our study explores whether changes in the consumption patterns of specific foods serve as early indicators of psychological distress, potentially preceding mental health conditions that prompt the use of medications such as anxiolytics, antidepressants, and sedatives. To explore this relationship, we leverage the COVID-19 lockdown as a natural experiment, representing a period marked by heightened stress and anxiety that led to an increase in the use of mental health medications. Our analysis focuses on detecting shifts in the consumption of "emotional foods" during and after the lockdown and measuring their association with subsequent drug use. Using panel regression models applied to weekly purchase data from the YouGov Consumer Panel scanner dataset spanning three years (2019-2021), we find a significant increase in the consumption of unhealthy, comfort foods and drinks, with a corresponding association with the use of psycholeptic drugs.

Discussant(s)
K. Aleks Schaefer
,
Oklahoma State University
Melanie Lührmann
,
University of London
Birgitta Rabe
,
University of Essex
Eliana Zeballos
,
United States Department of Agriculture
JEL Classifications
  • A1 - General Economics