tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2830084253401570472.post9098026612076155091..comments2024-03-28T09:22:36.967+13:00Comments on Offsetting Behaviour: Sugar taxEric Cramptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15831696523324469713noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2830084253401570472.post-13175503844522410792014-10-07T10:19:07.915+13:002014-10-07T10:19:07.915+13:00Exactly. Addressing communicable diseases works to...Exactly. Addressing communicable diseases works to solve a market failure: pandemic protection is a strong public good.Eric Cramptonhttp://offsettingbehaviour.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2830084253401570472.post-31004800436949436352014-10-07T09:08:13.463+13:002014-10-07T09:08:13.463+13:00If the costs of behaviour to the public health sys...If the costs of behaviour to the public health system are the reason for banning or taxing an activity, then there really isn't much that wouldn't be subject to tax and regulation, sex included. <br /><br /><br />But we don't have to say that costs to the health system justify paternalistic regulation. That's the much simpler, and better, answer.Eric Cramptonhttp://offsettingbehaviour.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2830084253401570472.post-24505718903913890412014-10-07T07:37:08.577+13:002014-10-07T07:37:08.577+13:00That was a terrible interview. "people should...That was a terrible interview. "people shouldnt have sex because they may get an std" seriously????? Thats a terrible argument. Foolish.david pressnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2830084253401570472.post-70732367075839658652014-10-07T07:20:31.144+13:002014-10-07T07:20:31.144+13:00Here's a supplementary point I think you'l...Here's a supplementary point I think you'll agree with: When priorities are set on the basis of a metric such as life-years lost, one will miss an important difference between communicable and non-communicable diseases: When doing the things that typically lead to non-communicable diseases, people often get something in return - e. g., the buzz you get after the third glass of beer. This is not the case with catching the flu or ebola.LemmusLemmusnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2830084253401570472.post-64034956846474950142014-10-06T22:19:27.016+13:002014-10-06T22:19:27.016+13:00amen!amen!The other Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2830084253401570472.post-66360943967434663612014-10-06T20:40:55.126+13:002014-10-06T20:40:55.126+13:00Denmark introduced a fat tax at the beginning of 2...Denmark introduced a fat tax at the beginning of 2012 and abandoned it again a year later. Besides the problems that Eric outline, the fat tax turned out to be a bureaucratic nightmare. Firms had to somehow assessed the fat contents in whatever they produced, which turned out to be both cumbersome and very expensive. A producer of high-quality sausages in Southern Denmark had to reduce their product line because about half of their products were unprofitable with the transaction costs associated with documenting their fat contents.<br />The introduction of the fat tax came to be an example of a problem that is almost always ignored by politicians: that any public authority with little accountability to voters is likely to shift as many transaction costs unto the private sector and voters as possible. Furthermore, the media wrote about the decision of how to reach the 'correct' tax rate. It turned out to be calculated as what was needed to yield 4 billion kroner (about .9 billion NZD).Christian Bjørnskovnoreply@blogger.com