Abstract
While a fiscal policy has been shown to influence food and beverage prices in ways which help encourage
healthier eating behaviour, evidence about the use of tax and price interventions is still unclear and
questions about their effect still remain. A systematic review on food and beverage tax and price interventions
was conducted in order to explore evidence about tax and price interventions to promote healthy
dietary behaviours and investigate their effect on consumers. The English and Thai-language published and
grey literature for studies on tax and price interventions including monetary subsidies or taxes levied on
food and beverage and their effects were searched. Twenty-seven studies met the inclusion criteria. 4 were
from the peer-reviewed literature, 21 were published online and 2 were from grey literature. The studies
mostly focused on taxing snack, confectionary, soft drink and soda, and on subsidizing staple food such as
rice, wheat and maize. These interventions particularly taxation were found in influencing diet and body
weight. In conclusion, taxes and subsidies in food and beverage may be a useful tool contributing to healthier
consumption patterns at the population level. However, more information is needed on actual response on
food and beverage and consumers in food and beverage taxation and subsidy in developing country particularly
Thailand along with information on how effective food and beverage taxation and subsidy would
be and particularly their effect on people in developing countries.
