Punktskatters påverkan på tobakskonsumtion - En kvantitativ studie om priselasticitet och socioekonomisk status

Abstract

The chief purpose of this study is to determine the price elasticity of demand and thus ascertain the extent to which the excise tax on tobacco products impacts cigarette consumption. Employing data from the National Health Interview Survey conducted by the american national public health institute Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it was found that the price elasticity assumed a value of 0.674 among the general population of cigarette smokers, and that those pertaining to the low socioeconomic status group had a slightly higher price elasticity in absolute value. Furthermore, it was found that low socioeconomic status is strongly linked to cigarette consumption, and that people with low education or low income on average smoked more cigarettes per day. The conclusion derived from the study suggests that raising the excise tax on tobacco is an effective policy as a means of effecting a reduction in cigarette consumption amongst all groups in society.