Harry Kaiser
Cornell University, Applied Economics and Management, Faculty Member
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Background Grocery food taxes represent a stable tax revenue stream for state and municipal government during times of adverse economic shocks such as that observed under the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Previous... more
Background Grocery food taxes represent a stable tax revenue stream for state and municipal government during times of adverse economic shocks such as that observed under the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Previous research, however, suggests a possible mechanism through which grocery taxes may adversely affect health. Our objectives are to document the spatial and temporal variation in grocery taxes and to empirically examine the statistical relationship between county-level grocery taxes and obesity and diabetes. Methods We collect and assemble a novel national dataset of annual county and state-level grocery taxes from 2009 through 2016. We link this data to three-year, county-level estimates based on data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on rates of obesity and diabetes and provide a nation-wide spatial characterization of grocery taxes and these two health outcomes. Using a county-level fixed effects estimator, we estimate the effect of grocery...
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This chapter examines the impact that consumer perceptions have had on egg demand in the USA. A quarterly econometric model is estimated using US time-series data during 1987-2000. The demand model incorporates slope and intercept dummy... more
This chapter examines the impact that consumer perceptions have had on egg demand in the USA. A quarterly econometric model is estimated using US time-series data during 1987-2000. The demand model incorporates slope and intercept dummy variables to measure whether the cholesterol awareness elasticity differed between the years 1987-96 and 1997-2000 to coincide with changing consumer cholesterol perceptions. The model is compared with a restricted model assuming that the demand response to cholesterol information was constant over the entire time period.
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Sales taxes on both grocery food and restaurant food exist in almost every county in the United States. By combining county level sales tax data with USDA’s recent national household food acquisition and purchase survey, we examine how a... more
Sales taxes on both grocery food and restaurant food exist in almost every county in the United States. By combining county level sales tax data with USDA’s recent national household food acquisition and purchase survey, we examine how a food sales tax affects consumers’ expenditures on grocery and restaurant food. We find that a grocery tax reduces consumers’ grocery food expenditures and increases restaurant food expenditure, which has further public health implication because the latter is generally considered to be less healthy. A restaurant food sales tax increases consumers’ grocery food expenditures. Such result provide insight into the potential impact of “fat” taxes on fast food restaurants. In addition, we find no differential impacts from food sales taxes based on consumers’ income, participation status in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or sharing borders with lower taxed counties. Finally, our results provide evidence that many consumers are attentive to food sales taxes even though the taxes are added at the register and are not salient. (This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)
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Abstract In the United States, grocery tax policy varies at both state and county levels, with 16 states having grocery taxes in 2020. Several states are engaged in active debates about whether to remove or impose such taxes. Although the... more
Abstract In the United States, grocery tax policy varies at both state and county levels, with 16 states having grocery taxes in 2020. Several states are engaged in active debates about whether to remove or impose such taxes. Although the extant literature evaluates multiple factors that may contribute to food insecurity, little is known about the relationship between grocery food sales taxes and food insecurity. We present county-level panel data on grocery taxes from 2006 through 2017 and find that jurisdictions with grocery taxes are among the most food insecure in the country. The regressiveness of grocery taxes exacerbates food insecurity, at least in theory. We link our tax data with county-level food insecurity measures and other data from the Current Population Survey. Treating grocery taxes as exogenous, we estimate that a one percentage point increase in grocery tax rates is associated with a 0.84% increase in the probability of being food insecure for low-income households. Using these estimates, we conduct policy simulations of grocery taxes that have been recently considered in six states and assess the potential impacts on food insecurity. One caveat is that our estimator may be biased towards or away from zero depending on whether increases in grocery taxes within counties over time are positively or negatively correlated with unobservables affecting food security. However, assuming the onset and removal of grocery taxes within a county are exogenous, our results show that proposed grocery taxes may exacerbate food insecurity by one to five percentage points.
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This study examines the impacts of two types of advertising content—healthy eating and anti-obesity advertising—on the demand for healthy and unhealthy food and beverage items. We show that differentiating consumers by weight is crucial... more
This study examines the impacts of two types of advertising content—healthy eating and anti-obesity advertising—on the demand for healthy and unhealthy food and beverage items. We show that differentiating consumers by weight is crucial in fully understanding the effects of advertising content on food and beverage demand. We find that among overweight individuals, anti-obesity advertisements are more effective than healthy eating advertisements at reducing the demand for unhealthy items and increasing the demand for healthy items. Furthermore, the magnitude of this effect increases with BMI. We discuss possible explanations and policy implications based on our results.
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Research Interests: Economics and Agriculture
Farm-to-hospital (FTH) programs can potentially improve the economy of local communities and preserve the environment. Research on adoption of farm-to-hospital (FTH) programs is extremely limited in the agricultural and applied economics... more
Farm-to-hospital (FTH) programs can potentially improve the economy of local communities and preserve the environment. Research on adoption of farm-to-hospital (FTH) programs is extremely limited in the agricultural and applied economics literature. Using data from our 2012 regional FTH program survey of hospital food-service directors in the Northeastern United States and from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, this study estimates a logit model to determine factors that influence a hospital's decision to adopt an FTH program. The empirical results indicate that specific hospital characteristics and agricultural factors significantly influence a hospital's decision to adopt.
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ABSTRACTThe impact of three menu‐labeling formats on changes in dietary quality of an away‐from‐home meal is measured. The analysis is based on a lunchtime experiment using 232 student participants, with a control group and three... more
ABSTRACTThe impact of three menu‐labeling formats on changes in dietary quality of an away‐from‐home meal is measured. The analysis is based on a lunchtime experiment using 232 student participants, with a control group and three treatments: (1) a calorie‐content posting, (2) a complete nutrition‐facts panel, and (3) health‐related claims. We find that the calorie content posting lead to the highest calorie reduction, but it was also the only treatment associated with a significant reduction in the fiber content of the meal. The complete nutrition‐facts panel treatment resulted in most sizable decreases in problematic nutrient content such as empty calories and calories from fat and added sugar. The health‐related claims treatment led to a reduction in carbohydrates and calories from fat. The nutrient density of selected meals remained mostly unchanged across all treatments, but the empty calories proportion of total calories was reduced in the nutrition‐facts and health‐related cla...
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Research Interests: Computer Science, Biology, Lactation, Environmental Sciences, Case Study, and 15 moreAgricultural Systems, Energy Balance, Annual Cycle, Body Weight, Body Condition Score, Dynamic Model of WSN, Elsevier, Dry Matter, Beef cow, biological value, dynamic model, Dietary intake, Metabolisable Energy, calving interval, and Environmental factor
The material contained herein is supplementary to the article named in the title and published in the American Journal of Agricultural Economics.
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Producers of many commodities pay for generic advertising, which is a public good for producers and, in cases like healthy foods, enhances social welfare. Though most programs were initially funded through the Voluntary Contribution... more
Producers of many commodities pay for generic advertising, which is a public good for producers and, in cases like healthy foods, enhances social welfare. Though most programs were initially funded through the Voluntary Contribution Mechanism, many became mandatory to mitigate free riding. This experimental research simulates key economic and psychological details of these programs and produces donation results strikingly similar to a historic example. Because mandatory programs may be declared unconstitutional, the Provision Point Mechanism is tested as an alternative. This research also shows that refund‐by‐request donation mechanisms establish a status quo of contributing and reduce free riding.
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Research Interests: Business, Public Health Nutrition, Food, Consumer Behavior, Food and Nutrition, and 14 moreMedicine, Food Analysis, Humans, Food Labeling, Purchasing, New York, Beverages, New England, Supermarket Shopping Behavior, Consumer Behaviour, Nutrition Policy, Choice Behavior, Nutritive Value, and Medical and Health Sciences
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Do export promotion and related market development programs successfully achieve their objectives? Are they cost effective and a profitable investment of public funds (Kaiser et al., 2005)? This article highlights recent research that... more
Do export promotion and related market development programs successfully achieve their objectives? Are they cost effective and a profitable investment of public funds (Kaiser et al., 2005)? This article highlights recent research that assesses how the United States economy is affected by private- and taxpayer-funded promotion activities. Recent studies suggest that U.S. market development programs, which promote U.S. agricultural exports and producer welfare, also have positive net effects on the rest of the economy as measured by changes in GDP and jobs. Private-sector contributions to these programs have been growing, and these efforts may become more necessary as products become further differentiated and specialized.
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Consumer preferences for labeled products are often assumed to be exogenous to the presence of labels. However, the label itself (and not the information on the label) can be interpreted as a noisy warning signal. We measure the impact of... more
Consumer preferences for labeled products are often assumed to be exogenous to the presence of labels. However, the label itself (and not the information on the label) can be interpreted as a noisy warning signal. We measure the impact of “contains” labels and additional information about the labeled ingredients, treating preferences for labeled characteristics as endogenous. We find that for organic-food shoppers, the “contains” label absent additional information serves as a noisy warning signal leading them to overestimate the riskiness of consuming the product. Providing additional information mitigates the large negative signaling effect of the label.
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This article examines whether the inclusion of the price risk variable as an explanatory variable in a Gardner-type acreage response model is statistically significant. By estimating six separate soya bean acreage response equations,... more
This article examines whether the inclusion of the price risk variable as an explanatory variable in a Gardner-type acreage response model is statistically significant. By estimating six separate soya bean acreage response equations, including two linear equations with and without risk, two double logarithmic equations with and without risk and two semi-logarithmic equations with and without risk, we find that adding a risk variable to the futures price model yields a better statistical result in every case. Furthermore, the models that have incorporated the risk variable have higher own and cross-price elasticities. This is a desirable result, since in the literature, many previous estimated supply elasticities were considered lower than plausible.
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Recent research suggests that agricultural export market development programs effectively communicate the distinguishing features of U.S. products to overseas buyers. These programs increase agricultural exports and producer welfare and... more
Recent research suggests that agricultural export market development programs effectively communicate the distinguishing features of U.S. products to overseas buyers. These programs increase agricultural exports and producer welfare and typically have positive net effects on the economy as measured by changes in GDP and employment.
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The purpose of this paper is to document and describe a computer program which simulates the impact of alternative dairy policies and technologies on important dairy market variables such as farm and retail prices and quantities. Several... more
The purpose of this paper is to document and describe a computer program which simulates the impact of alternative dairy policies and technologies on important dairy market variables such as farm and retail prices and quantities. Several policy and technology scenarios are simulated to illustrate the output of the program. The model, which is called the National Economic Milk Policy Impact Simulator (NEMPIS), is general in specifications of the duration of the simulation period, policy instruments, and technological choices. The computer software is available to anyone, provided that they send the author an IBM compatible formatted floppy disk. The model should be of interest to economists, policy makers, and dairy scientists interested in analyzing farm and retail market impacts due to federal policies and/or alternative technologies
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This research examines the effect of three factors—cheap talk, voting, and the status quo of the donation—on the voluntary contribution mechanism (VCM). Using undergraduate business students, results show that contributions as a percent... more
This research examines the effect of three factors—cheap talk, voting, and the status quo of the donation—on the voluntary contribution mechanism (VCM). Using undergraduate business students, results show that contributions as a percent of income in the last of ten rounds range from 18% for the case of no cheap talk, no voting, and a status quo of not giving to 94% in the case where all three contexts are combined. These results demonstrate the surprising result that context can make the simple VCM produce sustained efficiencies similar to incentive compatible public-good mechanisms.
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Consumers indicate on surveys that price and freshness are important to their purchase decisions. If this is true, then why don't retailers sell milk differentiated by the date it was pasteurized or why are meats not displayed with... more
Consumers indicate on surveys that price and freshness are important to their purchase decisions. If this is true, then why don't retailers sell milk differentiated by the date it was pasteurized or why are meats not displayed with several different prices based on time since butchering? Our experimental results suggest that the addition of an expiration date led consumers to consider milk to have a consistent level of freshness until the expiration date in contrast to them assuming a more linear decline. Our findings indicate that expiration dating substantially alters consumers' beliefs on milks' freshness and potentially enhances firms' profits.
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Many commodities have programs assessing producers for generic advertising. Ads such as "Got Milk?" and the "Incredible Edible Egg" are a public good for producers. Most of these programs originally used the Voluntary... more
Many commodities have programs assessing producers for generic advertising. Ads such as "Got Milk?" and the "Incredible Edible Egg" are a public good for producers. Most of these programs originally used the Voluntary Contribution Mechanism, but have now become mandatory because of free-riding. This research simulates both the economic and psychological details of the egg industry in experiments that produce strikingly realistic results. Because mandatory programs have recently been declared unconstitutional, we also the test the Provision Point Mechanism and show that observed low levels of free-riding for both mechanisms are the result of status quo bias.
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A component of the Land Grant committee structure to coordinate research in agriculture and related fields, NEC-63 was established in 1985 to foster quality research and dialogue on the economics of commodity promotion. The... more
A component of the Land Grant committee structure to coordinate research in agriculture and related fields, NEC-63 was established in 1985 to foster quality research and dialogue on the economics of commodity promotion. The Institute's mission is to enhance the overall understanding of economic and policy issues associated with commodity promotion programs. An understanding of these issues is crucial to ensuring continued authorization for domestic checkoff programs and to fund export promotion programs. The Institute supports specific research projects and facilitates collaboration among administrators and researchers in government, universities, and commodity promotion organizations. Through its sponsored research and compilations of related research reports, the Institute serves as a centralized source of knowledge and information about commodity promotion economics. • Support, coordinate, and conduct studies to identify key economic relationships and assess the impact of dom...
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A fixed-effects panel data demand model for five New York State markets is estimated to determine the differential impacts of generic fluid milk advertising by media type. Empirical results indicate that among the four media outlets,... more
A fixed-effects panel data demand model for five New York State markets is estimated to determine the differential impacts of generic fluid milk advertising by media type. Empirical results indicate that among the four media outlets, television advertising has the largest impact on per capita demand, followed by radio, outdoor, and print. Based on the estimated media-specific elasticities, media reallocation of advertising expenditures suggests that milk sales could increase significantly. The results indicate that cooperative media plan strategies developed between the New York regional advertising program and the national advertising programs would achieve the greatest benefits.