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What Is Narrative Economics?

In "Economists," edited by Robert M. Solow (Yale University Press)
Articles
Published: 0
Author(s): R. J. Shiller

What Would We Eat If We Knew More? The Implications of a Large Scale Change in Nutrition Labeling

Working Papers
Author(s): J. Abaluck
Abstract

his paper computes the welfare benefits of additional information about nutritional content in food by revealed preference and evaluates quantitatively whether the estimated behavioral response is consistent with information from experts on the relationship between diet and health. In doing so, it provides estimates of the im- pact of the law mandating nutrition labeling for all prepackaged foods in the US on nutrient consumption. Estimates derived from a structural model identified based on differential changes in information across foods are consistent with reduced form esti- mates comparing the change in calorie consumption among label users and non-label users. Taking the estimated willingness to pay for nutrient content as given implies that the labeling law led to an increase in consumer surplus of 25−40 annually for each label user and that additional labeling regulations could generate a comparable bene- fit. Comparing the implicit value of nutrient information with a benchmark computed from medical evidence and the value of a statistical life (VSL) suggests that consumers are insufficiently responsive to health differences across foods. Taking this benchmark as the normative standard, revealed preference estimates understate the benefits of labeling by a factor of four, and thousands of dollars in additional per capita welfare gains could be realized by policies which would lead consumers to eat healthier foods.