title: Re-examining the price sensitivity of demand for cigarettes with quantile regression.
abstract: Existing studies suggest that teenagers, young adults, and individuals of low socioeconomic status are more sensitive to changes in cigarette prices. However, little is known as to whether there are differences in price sensitivity between heavy and light smokers. To examine this gap, the present study uses quantile regression to estimate price sensitivity of demand for smokers with different levels of tobacco consumption. We conducted a national personal interview survey in Taiwan and the results showed price sensitivity is positively associated with the level of cigarette consumption. The data indicate that pricing strategies are more likely to notably reduce cigarette consumption for heavy smokers. Our findings suggest policymakers can meet target control for cigarette consumption by effectively adjusting market prices of cigarettes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Economics, National Chi-Nan University, 1 University Rd., Puli, Nantou Hsien, 545, Taiwan, ROC. Electronic address: ming@ncnu.edu.tw.
authors.forename: Chiang-Ming
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Kuo-Liang
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lin
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003132:Commerce; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012907:Smoking / Q000191:economics*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013624:Taiwan; D062789:Tobacco Products / Q000191:economics* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Heavy smokers; Light smokers; Price sensitivity; Quantile regression