David Phillips, associate director at IFS, gave this presentation to the LGiU's Network on the Future of Local Democracy on 28th March 2017. It touches upon some of the main changes to local government over the last few years and years ahead, and key issues that arise.
There have been calls for restrictions on junk food advertising to tackle rising rates of obesity around the world. This column examines the likely effect of a ban on potato crisp advertising. Results suggest that the total quantity of crisps sold would fall by around 15% in the presence of a ban, or by 10% if firms respond with price cuts. The welfare benefits from this would depend on whether current advertising is persuasive, informative or complementary.
