Blog

The Tobacconomics Approach to Think Tank Capacity-Building: The ‘Why' and ‘What’

During the month of March, we’ll be sharing a series of blogs to explain the think tank capacity building project: “Accelerating Progress on Tobacco Taxes in Low? and Middle?Income Countries,” which is funded through the Bloomberg Initiative To Reduce Tobacco Use. You can find a summary of the project here on the Tobacconomics website, but in short, this project aims to build the capacity of economic and fiscal policy think tanks to produce and disseminate high-quality research on the economics of tobacco taxation. We began the project two years ago and in that time, we have established partnerships with 22 think tanks in 17 countries. This series of blogs will explain the “who, what, when, where, why and how” of our team’s approach to capacity building on the economics of tobacco control, including our ‘core competencies’ model, the scoping process, research process and results thus far, lessons learned from our first grant cycle, and lastly, future work. Read More

New Collection of Papers Explores the Economics of NCDs

A new special collection of PLOS ONE, “Economic Cases for NCD Prevention and Control: A Global Perspective,” edited by Rachel Nugent (RTI International), Muhammad Jami Hussein (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and Tobacconomics Director, Frank Chaloupka, was launched at the annual Prince Mahidol Award Conference in Bangkok this week. Read More

UIC Think Tank Partners Make the Case for Returning to a Two-tiered Taxation Structure in Pakistan at the 34th Annual Conference of the Pakistan Society of Development Economists

Pakistan’s tobacco tax structure has undergone many changes in the past decade. Prior to 2013, the country had a highly complex three-tier Federal Excise Duty (FED) on cigarettes, with specific taxes on lower brands, ad-valorem taxes on premium brands levied as a percentage of retail price, and a combination of the two on medium brands. The tax structure was simplified in 2013, abolishing the ad-valorem component, making it a two-tier system instead. However, in 2017, a third tier was again introduced. At the 34th Annual Conference of the Pakistan Society of Development Economics last month, UIC think tank partners, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) and the Social Policy and Development Centre (SPDC), launched two new research reports that make the case for a more simplified tobacco tax structure in Pakistan. Read More

Southeastern European Think Tanks Present Research at Regional Conference

Culminating a year-long investigation of tobacco taxation and its impact on consumer behaviors in the SEE region, Tobacconomics think tank partners in the region from Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia met in Belgrade with policy makers and public health advocates from the region to present their breakthrough findings and recommendations. Read More

Latin America Tobacco Tax Research Network in Full Swing

Last week at the Mercosur Parliament in Montevideo, Uruguay, the Tobacconomics team participated in a research review meeting with its Latin America think tank partner network coordinated by the South American Network on Applied Economics (Red Sur). Read More

Tobacco Tax Increases Are Needed to Achieve the SDGs

Although tobacco taxes may not seem to be the topic du jour in many development policy circles, these taxes, as part of a comprehensive tobacco control package, are helpful in achieving many of the sustainable development goals. A new brief by Tobacconomics Director, Frank Chaloupka, makes the case for increasing tobacco taxes as a way to achieve progress on multiple Sustainable Development Goals. Read More