ISSUED: 26 September 2019
MEDIA CONTACT: Valerie Owens
SHEPHERDSTOWN, WV — Shepherd University’s Faculty Research Forum will present Dr. Kyle Hoy, assistant professor of economics, discussing “The Effectiveness of Taxes in Decreasing Candy Purchases” on Tuesday, October 8, at 1 p.m. in the Robert C. Byrd Center for Congressional History and Education auditorium. The lecture is free and open to the public.
Hoy’s research used candy purchase data at the household level to analyze changes in candy consumption due to Colorado’s candy tax. Colorado is one of the many states that exempts candy containing flour from its candy tax. To do this, the study constructed a dataset of monthly household taxed and tax-exempt candy purchases for the years 2009 and 2010 for the Denver and Omaha, Nebraska, metros. Difference-in-differences estimates imply that Colorado’s candy tax led to a decrease in taxed candy purchases of at least 11.2 percent, which would translate into a reduction of household bodyweight of at least one pound. Conversely, the study found no effect on the purchase of tax-exempt candy.
Hoy received his Ph.D. in agricultural, environmental and regional economics from Penn State University and his B.A. in economics from Lebanon Valley College. His research interests primarily lie in the areas of energy and environmental economics and policy analysis, with current research projects focusing on the shale boom.
— 30 —
