Taxing on SSBs: Heterogeneous Impacts on Consumption

We examine the impact of the new tax on SSBs introduced in Catalonia in May 2017. We exploit item to item purchases provided by a chain of supermarkets that covers the whole territory of Catalonia from 2015 to 2018. All non-alcoholic beverages are considered in order to explore substitution effects. Consumers characteristics such as gender and income levels are taken into account in order to explore heterogeneous effects based on socio-demographic characteristics identified through supermarket cards. Supermarket’ promotions and discounts during this period are also taken into account in order to examine the plausibility of counteracting effects to this health policy measure.