Thesis title:
Abstract:
Unhealthy diet and obesity are major risk factors for non-communicable diseases, leading to high treatment costs, productivity, and welfare losses, representing a threat to socio-economic development. There is increased interest in consumption taxes to promote healthier diets, with a growing body of evidence supporting their effectiveness. Such taxes may also represent a policy option to promote climate-friendly diets and reduce the significant anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions associated with agriculture and food production. However, the financial impact of consumption taxes on the poorest is of significant concern.
While these taxes are likely to appear regressive when considering only the potential increase in spending to buy taxed products, low-income consumers may experience disproportionate health benefits. Although these potential health gains also translate into financial benefits, this has not yet been quantified in the literature.
I believe that it is the role of economics to ensure that preventive health policies improve welfare and its distribution across social groups. I aim to investigate the distributional impact of fiscal policies to promote healthier and sustainable diets in low- and middle-income countries, particularly in Latin America, where obesity is pervasive. I will model the impact of different types of fiscal policies on food expenditures and the welfare benefits derived from potential diet improvements per income group, in terms of reduction in out-of-pocket expenditures to treat diseases related to overweight and unhealthy diet and increased lifetime labour incomes derived from reduced premature mortality.
Supervisors:
First supervisor: Prof. Franco Sassi
Second supervisor: Dr. Laure de Preux
Pathway:
1-Health Practices, Innovation & Implementation
Cohort:
2021-22
Publications:
Roche M, Sandoval RC, Monteiro MG. Comparing taxes on alcoholic beverages in the Region of the Americas. Addiction. 2023 Jul;118(7):1389-95. https://doi.org/10.1111/add.16146
Sandoval RC, Malik S, Roche M, Belausteguigoitia I, Morales-Zamora G. Lessons learned from fostering tobacco taxes in the Americas and implications for other health taxes. Revista Panamericana de Salud Pública. 2023 May 19;46:e188. https://doi.org/10.26633/RPSP.2022.188
Roche M, Alvarado M, Sandoval RC, da Silva Gomes F, Paraje G. Comparing taxes as a percentage of sugar-sweetened beverage prices in Latin America and the Caribbean. The Lancet Regional Health–Americas. 2022 Jul 1;11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lana.2022.100257
Sandoval RC, Roche M, Perucic AM, Alvarado M, Belausteguigoitia I, Galicia L, Paraje G. Monitoring and measuring health taxes. InHEALTH TAXES: Policy and Practice 2022 (pp. 351-399). https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.12657/61366/9781800612396.pdf?sequence=1#page=364
Hutchinson B, Brispat F, Calderón Pinzón LV, Sarmiento A, Solís E, Nugent R, Mann N, Spencer G, Ngongo C, Black A, Audera-Lopez MC. The case for investment in tobacco control: lessons from four countries in the Americas. Revista Panamericana de Salud Pública. 2022 May 19;46:e174. https://doi.org/10.26633/RPSP.2022.174
Sandoval RC, Bacelar Gomes A, Roche M, Parra N, Armada F. Avances en el control del tabaco en la Región de las Américas, 2020. Revista Panamericana de Salud Pública. 2021 May 19;46:e202. https://doi.org/10.26633/RPSP.2021.94
Sandoval RC, Roche M, Belausteguigoitia I, Alvarado M, Galicia L, Gomes FS, Paraje G. Excise taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages in Latin America and the Caribbean. Revista Panamericana de Salud Pública. 2021 Apr 30;45:e21. https://doi.org/10.26633/RPSP.2021.21
Social Media:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maxime-roche-14640483/
Twitter: @Maxime1Roche
My Google Scholar account: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=xlsLuNMAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=sra