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American Economic Journal: Economic Policy: Vol. 3 No. 1 (February 2011)

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Calorie Posting in Chain Restaurants

Article Citation

Bollinger, Bryan, Phillip Leslie, and Alan Sorensen. 2011. "Calorie Posting in Chain Restaurants." American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 3(1): 91-128.

DOI: 10.1257/pol.3.1.91

Abstract

We study the impact of mandatory calorie posting on consumers' purchase decisions using detailed data from Starbucks. We find that average calories per transaction fall by 6 percent. The effect is almost entirely related to changes in consumers' food choices—there is almost no change in purchases of beverage calories. There is no impact on Starbucks profit on average, and for the subset of stores located close to their competitor Dunkin Donuts, the effect of calorie posting is actually to increase Starbucks revenue. Survey evidence and analysis of commuters suggests the mechanism for the effect is a combination of learning and salience. (JEL D12, D18, D83, L83)

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Authors

Bollinger, Bryan (Stanford U)
Leslie, Phillip (Stanford U)
Sorensen, Alan (Stanford U)

JEL Classifications

D12: Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
D18: Consumer Protection
D83: Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief
L83: Sports; Gambling; Recreation; Tourism

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