One in five adults is obese in wealthy countries around the world. Unfortunately, in the United States, the rate is about two in five (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development [OECD] 2017). Major causes appear to be sweet drinks and added sugars in other products. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2017), frequent consumption of sweetened beverages is associated with obesity, heart disease, kidney diseases, cavities, and other diseases. Oddly, despite the obesity epidemic, subsidies for crops that can be refined into sugar- corn, wheat, rice, sorghum, and others-continue. The subsidies reduce the prices of products containing sugars. These products include sodas, sweetened teas, and other products. A number of local governments have enacted taxes on sweetened beverages, but no taxes have passed at the state or federal level. (France and Mexico have passed national taxes.) Paarlberg, Mozaffartian, and Micha (2017) argue that a 17 percent tax on sweetened beverages would reduce consumption by 15 percent. Discussion Questions 1. What price elasticity does the estimate by Paarlberg, Mozaffartian, and Micha (2017) imply? 2. Can you find another estimate of the price elasticity of demand for sweetened drinks? (look for published work) 3. Is the demand for sweetened drinks elastic or inelastic? 4. Per question (1) above, If the price of sodas rose by 5 percent, how much would sales drop? 5. What are substitutes for sweetened drinks