📋 Written Ability Test (WAT)/Essay Analysis Guide

🌟 Topic: Should Governments Provide Tax Incentives for Adopting Healthy Lifestyle Habits?

🌐 Understanding the Topic’s Importance

Tax incentives for health tie closely to public policy, economics, and social equity, making this a compelling topic for B-school essays. It explores the intersection of financial levers and societal well-being.

📝 Effective Planning and Writing

• Time Allocation:
• Planning: 5 minutes
• Writing: 20 minutes
• Review: 5 minutes
• Preparation Tips:
• Research examples (e.g., Singapore, Japan).
• Use recent data for credibility.

🎯 Introduction Techniques

• Contrast Approach: “While healthcare costs soar globally, preventive measures like incentivizing healthy lifestyles could reduce this burden. However, implementation requires nuanced policy design.”
• Timeline Approach: “From Japan’s ‘Metabo Law’ to Singapore’s fitness tax credits, governments worldwide are experimenting with fiscal tools to promote health, with varying success.”

📊 Structuring the Essay Body

Achievements:

• Example: Singapore’s tax incentives reduced obesity by 15%.
• Data: $6 saved for every $1 in preventive care investment.

Challenges:

• Equity: Disparity in who benefits.
• Misuse: Fraudulent claims in U.S. programs.

Future Outlook:

• Recommendations: Subsidizing healthy food or implementing scalable digital tracking systems.
• Vision: Achieving universal health equity through targeted fiscal policies.

📄 Concluding Effectively

• Balanced Perspective: “Tax incentives offer promise in tackling lifestyle diseases, but their success depends on equitable implementation and robust monitoring frameworks.”
• Global Comparison: “Adopting lessons from Singapore and Japan could help countries design more effective and inclusive health policies.”

🔍 Analyzing Successes and Shortcomings

• Successes: Reduced healthcare costs, public health improvements.
• Shortcomings: Inequitable benefits, policy complexity.
• Global Context: Learning from countries with mature systems like Sweden.

🌱 Recommendations for Sustainable Progress

• Introduce tiered benefits targeting lower-income groups.
• Integrate technology for monitoring and rewarding health behaviors.
• Foster public-private partnerships to amplify impact.

✍️ Sample Short Essays

• Balanced Perspective: “Governments must find ways to balance cost savings with equitable access to ensure all citizens benefit from healthy lifestyle incentives.”
• Solution-Oriented: “Tax credits for healthy habits can reduce healthcare burdens, provided they are backed by strong enforcement mechanisms.”
• Global Comparison: “Drawing lessons from Singapore’s successes and the U.S.’s struggles, effective tax incentives require simplicity, equity, and comprehensive monitoring.”