Price Of Alcoholic Beverages Research Articles

Alcohol Taxes and Beverage Prices

Alcohol involvement in auto crashes, homicides, and teen drinking is an important policy concern, and the price of alcohol may have significant effects on these behaviors. Are alcohol taxes quickly and fully passed on to consumers? Given the difficulties of accurately measuring beverage prices, are beer taxes a good empirical proxy for the price of alcohol? Using pooled cross sectiontime series data on state and Federal alcohol taxes and beverage prices, beer taxes are found to be poor predictors of alcohol prices. Controlling for state and period effects, excise taxes appear to be over-shifted: Retail prices rise by more than the amount of the tax, and the rise occurs within 3 months.

The economics of alcohol abuse and alcohol-control policies.

Economic research has contributed to the evaluation of alcohol policy through empirical analysis of the effects of alcohol-control measures on alcohol consumption and its consequences. It has also provided an accounting framework for defining and comparing costs and benefits of alcohol consumption and related policy interventions, including excise taxes. The most important finding from the economics literature is that consumers tend to drink less ethanol, and have fewer alcohol-related problems, when alcoholic beverage prices are increased or alcohol availability is restricted. That set of findings is relevant for policy purposes because alcohol abuse imposes large "external" costs on others. Important challenges remain, including developing a better understanding of the effects of drinking on labor-market productivity.

THE DEMAND for ILLICIT DRUGS

This paper estimates the effects of alcohol prices, marijuana decriminalization, cocaine prices, and heroin prices on the demand for these four substances. Both own price effects and cross price effects are estimated. The estimated price elasticities for alcohol, cocaine, and heroin are, respectively, –.30, –.28 and –.94. Marijuana decriminalization was found to increase the probability of marijuana participation by about 8%. The results for the cross price effects provide general evidence of complementarity. It is estimated that decriminalization of cocaine and heroin might lead to about 260,000 new regular cocaine users and about 47,000 new regular heroin users. (JEL 110)

Female suicides and alcohol consumption duringperestroikain the former USSR

During 1984-1990, a decline in suicide rates of 32% for males and 19% for females took place in the former Soviet Union. The observed annual decrease in mortality from suicide was most marked for men in 1984-1986 and for women in 1984-1988. This article illuminates the hypothesis that the restrictive anti-alcohol campaign initiated by Gorbachev on 1 June 1985, in which prices of alcoholic beverages were raised substantially, had an impact on female mortality from suicide in the former Soviet Union. Data regarding alcohol consumption, female violent death (n = 451,537), suicide (n = 94,149), death due to accidental alcohol poisoning (n = 28,078), and undetermined death, whether accidental or self-inflicted (n = 23,982) were analysed for three Slavic (Russia, Belarus and the Ukraine), three Baltic (Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia) and two Central Asian republics (Kazakhstan and Kirgizia). Regression analyses with alcohol consumption as the independent variable and female suicide rates and female violent-death rates as dependent variables showed that suicide and alcohol consumption, as well as violent death and alcohol consumption, were positively correlated. However, alcohol seems to have a lower explanatory value for female suicides and female violent deaths compared with male suicides and male violent deaths. The attributable fraction of alcohol for female suicides in the whole USSR (27%) is estimated at approximately half of that for male suicides (50%).

The effects of price on the consequences of alcohol use and abuse.

Economists have examined the impact of alcohol prices on various outcomes related to alcohol consumption, including nonfatal and fatal motor vehicle accidents, other accidents, liver cirrhosis, and other alcohol-related mortality, crime, and education attainment. Price, in the context of this research, includes not only the monetary price of alcoholic beverages, but also a wide variety of other "costs" of drinking and heavy drinking, including the time spent obtaining alcoholic beverages and the legal costs associated with drinking and related behavior. This research clearly demonstrates that increases in the monetary prices of alcoholic beverages, which could be achieved by increasing taxes on alcohol, can significantly reduce many of the problems associated with alcohol use and abuse. In addition, control policies that raise other "costs" of drinking, including reduced availability of alcoholic beverages, higher legal drinking ages, and others, are also effective in reducing the consequences of alcohol use and abuse.

The Under-Exploited Indigenous Alcoholic Beverages of Tanzania: Production,Consumption and Quality of the Undocumented "Denge

In Africa, then: are numerous traditional alcoholic beverages. Unavailability of literalllre on these beverages. particularly regarding their production, consumption and quality is a major constraint against industrial production. The rising prices of conventional alcoholic beverages call for more studies on these beverages. Denge, one such beverage, was studietl and analyzed in tenns of total soluble solids, specific gravity, pH and titratable acidity changes during fermentation. Result~ showed that Kigelia £1lricana and Aloe pluridens were used to prepare fermenting agents for subsequent production of ''denge. a.:ting primarily as a reservoir nf micro-organ­ isms fnr thi~ fermentation. Slime fom1ation in the raw cane juice was a common problem. Optimum time fur heat sterilisation of the juice. a possible method to he used by ordinary households need 10 be established. Types and numbers of microorganisms in the fermentation need idcnti tication. Types and levels of residual toxicants from K. a.fi'icana and A. pluridem in the wine need to be tlucurnented. The specific gravity. total soluble solids. pH and titrat­ able acidity studies have displayed the perishability of ''denge during storage. More shclftife studies arc recommended. Key \Vords: Dengc; Ail:oholi..: beverage; Tanzania: Kigelia africana: Aloe pluridens.

Effects of Alcohol Price Policy on Youth: A Summary of Economic Research

In this article, we summarize research by economists that deals with the effects of alcoholic beverage prices and excise taxes on a variety of outcomes for youth. These include alcohol consumption (both moderate and excessive), motor vehicle accident mortality, and college completion rates. The research employs six nationally representative data sets on individuals that span the period from 1974 through 1989 and two state-level data sets for the years 1975-1981 and 1982-1988. The studies find that alcohol use and motor vehicle accident mortality are negatively related to the cost of alcohol. College completion rates are positively related to this variable. Clearly, these are policy-relevant findings, because price is a policy-manipulable variable. Frequently, the effects of a variety of simulated excise tax hikes exceed those of the uniform minimum legal drinking age of 21 in all states.

Drinking, Driving, and Deterrence: The Effectiveness and Social Costs of Alternative Policies

TRAFFIC accidents are one of the leading causes of death in the United States and are the leading cause of death for people aged three to thirtyfour. It is estimated that alcohol is involved in approximately half of all fatal accidents.' The deaths and injuries of nondrinking drivers, passengers, and pedestrians both arouse public opinion and provide a clear-cut efficiency rationale for policies to correct the negative externalities.2 There are two types of policies aimed at reducing drunk driving. The first type of law attempts to deter drunk driving. The second type of law indirectly reduces drunk driving by controlling alcohol consumption, either in general or in high-risk groups. Examples of alcohol control policies

Alcohol and suicide in Denmark 1911‐24–experiences from a ‘natural experiment’

In 1916-17, prices of alcoholic beverages increased dramatically in Denmark, and alcohol consumption decreased strongly. On the basis of this 'natural experiment', the effect of variations in per capita alcohol consumption on suicide rates is estimated, and compared to Norström's analysis of Danish data from the period 1931-80, as well as similar analyses from other countries. It is concluded that per capita alcohol consumption is probably related to the suicide rate in Denmark, but to a less extent than in some other countries.

The relationship of outlet densities to alcohol consumption: a time series cross-sectional analysis.

The implementation of regulations on access to alcoholic beverages, whether through beverage taxes or restrictions on the availability of this commodity through alcohol outlets, has often been proposed as a legitimate and politically feasible approach to the prevention of alcohol-related problems. Empirical studies of the effects of these approaches to regulation on alcohol consumption and problems, however, have not been unanimous in their support of these preventive measures. While support exists for the suggestion that increases in alcohol beverage prices reduce consumption and have preventive effects upon the occurrence of problems, relatively little evidence exists for the supposition that the regulation of alcohol availability will have similar preventive effects. The lack of evidence in support of the latter thesis rests primarily upon the difficulty of obtaining sufficient data to examine comprehensive models of access to alcohol. The current paper analyzes aggregate time series cross-sectional data from states of the U.S. to evaluate the relationships between alcohol beverage prices, availability, and alcohol sales within one analytic model. The model relates beverage prices and alcohol availability directly to alcohol sales in the context of an assumed simultaneous relationship between sales and availability. The results show that, independent of the effects of beverage prices, and controlling for the endogeneity of sales and availability, physical availability of alcohol was directly related to sales of spirits and wine.

Alternative approaches to the measurement of consumption and price of alcoholic beverages, Canada, 1957-1983.

Alternative accepted methods of aggregating prices and quantities of beer, spirits and wine could yield different conclusions for intertemporal comparisons. In this study Fisher's index is used to measure changes in per capita consumption and price of alcoholic beverages in Canada, 1957-83. The results are typically very close to those obtained from measures based on pure alcohol content.

Effects of Alcoholic Beverage Prices and Legal Drinking Ages on Youth Alcohol Use

Based on an analysis of the second National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, conducted between 1976 and 1980, we find that the frequency of the consumption of beer, the most popular alcoholic beverage among youths, is inversely related to the real price of beer and to the minimum legal age for its purchase and consumption. The negative price and legal drinking age effects are by no means limited to reductions in the fraction of youths who consume beer infrequently (less than once a week). Instead, the fractions of youths who consume beer fairly frequently (1-3times a week) and frequently (4-7 times a week) fall more in absolute or percentage terms than the fraction of infrequent drinkers when price or the drinking age rises. These are striking findings because frequent and fairly frequent drinkers are likely to be responsible for a large percentage of youth motor vehicle accidents and deaths. Simulations suggest that, if reductions in youth alcohol use and abuse are desired, both a uniform drinking age of 21 and an increase in the Federal excise tax rate on beer are effective policies to accomplish this goal. They also suggest that the tax policy may be more potent than the drinking age policy.

Overprovision and the licensing (Scotland) act 1976

This paper examines Scottish licensing law, in particular the granting of licenses to supply alcoholic liquor. Any application for a license must be granted unless one or more of four conditions are fulfilled. One of these, that the award would lead to overprovision, is the central concern of this study. The paper does not investigate why the consumption and distribution of alcohol are regulated nor why regulatory control takes the form it does. 1 The starting point is rather that regulation exists and takes a particular form. Attention is focused on the operation of this regulatory control and with how it might be improved. In the next section, some of the key features of the licensing law and its appeals are reviewed, establishing the importance of evidence of the presence or otherwise of overprovision. Section II discusses the use of density of licensed premises as a measure of provision, indicates the problems, and argues that a measure might be refined and validated by entering it in an equation explaining the retail price of alcoholic beverages. Section III examines empirically the relationship between price and licensing density.

Beer Taxes, the Legal Drinking Age, and Youth Motor Vehicle Fatalities

The responsiveness of motor vehicle death rates of youths aged fifteen through twenty-four to variations in the cost of beers as reflected by differences in State excise tax rates on beer is investigated. Evidence for this age group is provided on the extent to which declining real beer excise taxes have contributed to increases in fatal motor vehicle crashes and on the extent to which increases in real beer taxes can serve as a potent instrument in the antidrinking campaign. The effect of an increase in the legal drinking age on youth motor vehicle deaths is also examined.

ALCOHOL TAXATION AS A PUBLIC HEALTH POLICY: THE NEW ZEALAND EXPERIENCE

The paper discusses issues surrounding the use of alcohol taxation as a means of reducing the costs imposed on New Zealand society by the abuse of alcohol. Econometric studies have indicated that, in common with most other industrialised countries, increases in the real price of alcoholic beverages in New Zealand reduce the per capita consumption of alcohol. Alcohol taxes are well‐targeted towards those who are most likely to impose costs on society: 7% of drinkers drink approximately half of all alcohol consumed and therefore pay a large proportion of alcohol taxes. The common assertion that the burden of alcohol taxes falls disproportionately on low income groups is not supported by this analysis: alcohol taxation in New Zealand appears to be proportional rather than regressive.

Reduction of community alcohol problems: computer simulation experiments in three counties.

A series of alcohol abuse prevention strategies was evaluated using computer simulation for three counties in the United States: Wake County, North Carolina, Washington County, Vermont and Alameda County, California. A system dynamics model composed of a network of interacting variables was developed for the pattern of alcoholic beverage consumption in a community. The relationship of community drinking patterns to various stimulus factors was specified in the model based on available empirical research. Stimulus factors included disposable income, alcoholic beverage prices, advertising exposure, minimum drinking age and changes in cultural norms. After a generic model was developed and validated on the national level, a computer-based system dynamics model was developed for each county, and a series of experiments was conducted to project the potential impact of specific prevention strategies. The project concluded that prevention efforts can both lower current levels of alcohol abuse and reduce projected increases in alcohol-related problems. Without such efforts, already high levels of alcohol-related family disruptions in the three counties could be expected to rise an additional 6% and drinking-related work problems 1-5%, over the next 10 years after controlling for population growth. Of the strategies tested, indexing the price of alcoholic beverages to the consumer price index in conjunction with the implementation of a community educational program with well-defined target audiences has the best potential for significant problem reduction in all three counties.

The Price of Alcohol

To the Editor.— The Sept 19,1986, issue of JAMA included several excellent articles related to alcohol abuse and alcoholism. Your continuing effort to educate health professionals on one of our most serious health problems is much appreciated. However, I want to comment on a subject that was not discussed: the relationship between the retail price of alcohol and alcohol-related problems. Over the past several decades, the retail prices of alcoholic beverages in the United States have declined compared with disposable income and the prices of other consumer goods, including alternative beverages such as soft drinks. An important reason for this decline is that federal alcohol excise taxes and many state alcohol taxes are flat taxes that have lagged well behind inflation. Retail price is a powerful influence on population-wide alcohol consumption. Low prices stimulate higher levels of consumption. Higher levels of consumption are, in turn, associated with higher levels of

Bayes Estimates for the Price and Income Elasticities of Alcoholic Beverages in Finland From 1955 to 1980

The Lindley–Smith theory of Bayes estimates for multiple regression equations with exchangeability between the regression coefficients of the individual equations is extended to the case in which a first-order autoregressive process generates the regression coefficients. The ensuing formulas are applied to study monthly Finnish consumption of alcohol. The point of this application is that exchangeability between the regression coefficients is less than we can assess beforehand when there is a natural ordering, in this case according to chronological time, of the equations. Still, the general task of the Lindley–Smith estimators, to consider the combined data when estimating individual regression coefficients, is a relevant one.

Bayes Estimates for the Price and Income Elasticities of Alcoholic Beverages in Finland from 1955 to 1980

Bayes Estimates for the Price and Income Elasticities of Alcoholic Beverages in Finland from 1955 to 1980

The Effect of Minimum Drinking Age Legislation on Youthful Auto Fatalities, 1970-1977

Annual state data on auto fatality rates for an 8-year period (1970-77) are examined to study the influence the magnitude of change in a state's minimum legal drinking age (mlda) has on teenage auto fatality rates. Factors taken into account include: the average auto fatality rate prior to the change; the year-to-year variability in this rate; the precise nature of the legal change; and minimum drinking age laws in contiguous states. During the 8-year period there were 20 instances in which a state reduced its mlda and one instance in which the mlda was increased. The principal finding is that a reduction in the mlda from 21 to 18 years of age for all alcoholic beverage types will result in an increase in the auto fatality rate for 18-to 20-year-olds of about 7 percent, and a somewhat smaller increase for 16-to 17-year-olds. It is estimated that the national 18-to 20-year-old auto fatality rate was about 3 percent higher in the mid-1970s than it would have been if minimum age laws had not been amended between 1970 and 1975. This information can serve as one useful input into the policy decision concerning the appropriate minimum drinking age. (Author/TRRL)