A Comparative Methodological Framework for Evaluating Distributional and Nutritional Effects of Food Carbon Pricing
- University of Galway; BiOrbic SFI Research Centre, Ireland
- University College of Northern Denmark, Denmark
- Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research, Luxembourg
- Institute of Public Finance, Croatia
Cite this article
as: G. Al-Masbhi, C. O’Donoghue, Z. Gizem Can, A. Diop-Christensen, A. Montes, E. Paradowska, M. Pezer, D. Sologon; 2026; A Comparative Methodological Framework for Evaluating Distributional and Nutritional Effects of Food Carbon Pricing; International Journal of Microsimulation; 19(2); 1-21.
doi: 10.34196/ijm.00336
Figures
Figure 1
Price per 1000 kJ of Food Energy by Category and Country (€/1000kJ)
Figure 2
Price per unit of Energy by Food Group per Country (€/1000 kj per GDP per Capita)
Figure 3
Composition of Food Expenditure by Category Across Income Deciles and Countries
Figure 4
Energy-Based Carbon Intensity of Food Consumption Across Income Deciles in Eight European Countries (Relative to National Mean)
Figure 5
Carbon Tax Burden on Food as a Share of Income Across Income Deciles in Eight Countries
Tables
Table 1
Distributional Indicators of the Food Carbon Tax Across Countries
| Country | Gini (Pre-Tax) | Gini (Post-Tax) | Reynolds–Smolensky Index | Kakwani Index | Average tax rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IE | 0.301 | 0.304 | –0.0026 | –0.2496 | 0.0103 |
| FR | 0.306 | 0.308 | –0.0022 | –0.1651 | 0.0122 |
| DK | 0.305 | 0.307 | –0.0024 | –0.1351 | 0.0163 |
| UK | 0.303 | 0.305 | –0.0020 | –0.2021 | 0.0098 |
| TR | 0.394 | 0.396 | –0.0019 | –0.3386 | 0.0055 |
| LU | 0.296 | 0.298 | –0.0019 | –0.1961 | 0.0096 |
| PL | 0.277 | 0.279 | –0.0023 | –0.2174 | 0.0105 |
| ES | 0.285 | 0.287 | –0.0037 | –0.1642 | 0.0129 |
Table A1
Sensitivity analysis of food emission factors across EU countries
| HBSVar | ci_low | ci_high | ci_low_t | ci_high_t | mean_other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rice | 3.585959 | 4.766041 | 3.340309 | 5.011692 | 4.27 |
| Flours and other cereals | 1.414113 | 1.857887 | 1.321735 | 1.950265 | 1.72 |
| Bread | 1.360303 | 1.639697 | 1.302143 | 1.697857 | 1.55 |
| Other bakery products | 1.766372 | 3.201628 | 1.467605 | 3.500395 | 2.78 |
| Pizza and quiche | 1.719267 | 2.932733 | 1.466668 | 3.185332 | 2.5825 |
| Pasta products and couscous | 1.770238 | 2.693762 | 1.577994 | 2.886006 | 2.465 |
| Breakfast cereals | 1.335546 | 2.396454 | 1.114703 | 2.617297 | 2.0075 |
| Other cereal products | 2.1078 | 8.556199 | .7654805 | 9.89852 | 6.34 |
| Beef and veal | 50.19272 | 67.63927 | 46.56099 | 71.27101 | 62.945 |
| Pork | 4.759902 | 6.768098 | 4.341869 | 7.186131 | 5.38 |
| Lamb and goat | 27.81898 | 46.29702 | 23.97253 | 50.14347 | 40.2225 |
| Poultry | 1.821446 | 4.742554 | 1.213379 | 5.350621 | 2.5775 |
| Other meats | 3.205559 | 5.598442 | 2.707448 | 6.096552 | 3.8275 |
| Edible offal | 7.107489 | 20.13251 | 4.396157 | 22.84384 | 10.3 |
| Dried, salted or smoked meat | 5.832946 | 6.887054 | 5.613519 | 7.106481 | 6.275 |
| Other meat preparations | 1.9457 | 5.1023 | 1.288611 | 5.759388 | 2.73 |
| Fresh or chilled fish | 2.145666 | 3.406334 | 1.883241 | 3.668759 | 2.47 |
| Frozen fish | 2.226454 | 3.465546 | 1.96852 | 3.72348 | 2.5575 |
| Fresh or chilled seafood | 3.93944 | 4.47256 | 3.828464 | 4.583536 | 4.2575 |
| Frozen seafood | 4.910359 | 10.28564 | 3.791423 | 11.40458 | 8.4975 |
| Dried, smoked or salted fish and seafood | 2.226108 | 5.133892 | 1.620814 | 5.739186 | 2.95 |
| Other preserved or processed fish and seafood-based preparations | 2.347288 | 6.180712 | 1.54931 | 6.97869 | 3.68 |
| Milk, whole, fresh | -.0587203 | 2.35472 | -.5611099 | 2.85711 | .535 |
| Milk, low fat, fresh | .1770255 | 2.490974 | -.3046537 | 2.972654 | .7675 |
| Milk, preserved | .1464105 | 2.44159 | -.3313615 | 2.919362 | .7175 |
| Yoghurt | .1569365 | 2.431064 | -.3164532 | 2.904453 | .7175 |
| Cheese and curd | 4.039816 | 6.724184 | 3.48103 | 7.28297 | 5.8275 |
| Other milk products | .9050175 | 2.870983 | .4957758 | 3.280224 | 1.46 |
| Eggs | .4451219 | 3.118878 | -.1114559 | 3.675456 | 1.1025 |
| Butter | 2.729667 | 3.402333 | 2.589643 | 3.542357 | 3.1325 |
| Margarine and other vegetable fats | 1.852835 | 4.647165 | 1.271158 | 5.228842 | 2.5375 |
| Olive oil | 5.791921 | 5.896079 | 5.77024 | 5.91776 | 5.83 |
| Other edible oils | 2.977505 | 4.842494 | 2.589283 | 5.230717 | 3.4375 |
| Other edible animal fats | 2.806462 | 5.373538 | 2.272091 | 5.907909 | 3.4375 |
| Fresh or chilled fruit | .5109639 | .7370361 | .463904 | .7840961 | .605 |
| Frozen fruit | .4104033 | .6775967 | .3547835 | .7332165 | .505 |
| Dried fruit and nuts | 4.800905 | 15.11909 | 2.653037 | 17.26696 | 12.275 |
| Preserved fruit and fruit-based products | .8582021 | 1.185798 | .7900087 | 1.253991 | 1.0775 |
| Fresh or chilled vegetables other than potatoes and other tubers | .2552969 | .4527031 | .2142042 | .4937958 | .3175 |
| Frozen vegetables other than potatoes and other tubers | .4497801 | .6822199 | .4013946 | .7306053 | .5825 |
| Dried vegetables, other preserved or processed vegetables | 1.347173 | 3.008827 | 1.001277 | 3.354723 | 2.5975 |
| Potatoes | .4007628 | .4632373 | .3877579 | .4762422 | .44 |
| Crisps | 2.96352 | 5.68448 | 2.397116 | 6.250884 | 3.73 |
| Other tubers and products of tuber vegetables | .4010697 | .9629303 | .284111 | 1.079889 | .7525 |
| Sugar | 1.509345 | 2.726655 | 1.255946 | 2.980054 | 2.3975 |
| Jams, marmalades and honey | 1.304195 | 2.179805 | 1.121926 | 2.362074 | 1.9275 |
| Chocolate | 6.034944 | 14.36906 | 4.300088 | 16.10391 | 8.0775 |
| Confectionery products | 4.335207 | 22.39279 | .5762805 | 26.15172 | 16.455 |
| Edible ices and ice cream | 2.503622 | 3.308378 | 2.336101 | 3.475899 | 2.7325 |
| Artificial sugar substitutes | 1.109285 | 4.070715 | .4928242 | 4.687176 | 2.9875 |
| Sauces, condiments | 1.918721 | 3.241278 | 1.643414 | 3.516586 | 2.7 |
| Salt, spices and culinary herbs | .2951761 | .6368238 | .2240576 | .7079424 | .3825 |
| Baby food | 2.710623 | 2.801377 | 2.691731 | 2.820269 | 2.745 |
| Ready-made meals | 6.52434 | 30.62366 | 1.507746 | 35.64025 | 21.5175 |
| Other food products n.e.c. | 1.14756 | 5.11644 | .3213852 | 5.942615 | 2.215 |
| Coffee | 16.47273 | 17.39527 | 16.28069 | 17.58731 | 17.0425 |
| Tea | 12.16886 | 25.57115 | 9.378991 | 28.36101 | 20.5625 |
| Cocoa and powdered chocolate | 16.64717 | 18.10083 | 16.34457 | 18.40343 | 17.0425 |
| Mineral or spring waters | .109048 | .198952 | .0903333 | .2176667 | .1675 |
| Soft drinks | .3924783 | .9955217 | .2669469 | 1.121053 | .5425 |
| Fruit and vegetable juices | 1.391868 | 1.664132 | 1.335193 | 1.720807 | 1.585 |
| Spirits and liqueurs | 2.147991 | 3.800009 | 1.804101 | 4.143899 | 3.3925 |
| Alcoholic soft drinks | .9878857 | 1.448114 | .892083 | 1.543917 | 1.1975 |
| Wine from grapes | 1.531807 | 1.692193 | 1.498421 | 1.725579 | 1.615 |
| Wine from other fruits | 1.527807 | 1.688193 | 1.494421 | 1.721579 | 1.61 |
| Fortified wines | 1.449667 | 2.690333 | 1.191406 | 2.948594 | 2.1875 |
| Wine-based drinks | 1.722006 | 2.817994 | 1.493861 | 3.046139 | 2.4375 |
| Lager beer | .5748086 | .9371914 | .4993738 | 1.012626 | .67 |
| Other alcoholic beer | .6128448 | .9831551 | .5357598 | 1.06024 | .7225 |
| Low and non-alcoholic beer | .6128448 | .9831551 | .5357598 | 1.06024 | .7225 |
| Beer-based drinks | .6128448 | .9831551 | .5357598 | 1.06024 | .7225 |
Data and code availability
This study uses restricted household budget survey microdata from Eurostat’s HBS, TurkStat’s Household Budget Survey for Türkiye, and the UK Living Costs and Food Survey accessed through the UK Data Service. These data cannot be publicly shared by the authors. The analytical code is available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request, subject to data access restrictions.
Additional files
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Supplementary file 1
- http://web:8082/00336/ijm-00336-supp1.xlsx
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