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What happens to drinking when alcohol policy changes? A review of five natural experiments for alcohol taxes, prices, and availability.
- Source :
- European Journal of Health Economics; May2017, Vol. 18 Issue 4, p417-434, 18p
- Publication Year :
- 2017
-
Abstract
- Natural experiments are an important alternative to observational and econometric studies. This paper provides a review of results from empirical studies of alcohol policy interventions in five countries: Denmark, Finland, Hong Kong, Sweden, and Switzerland. Major policy changes were removal of quotas on travelers' tax-free imports and reductions in alcohol taxes. A total of 29 primary articles are reviewed, which contain 35 sets of results for alcohol consumption by various subpopulations and time periods. For each country, the review summarizes and examines: (1) history of tax/quota policy interventions and price changes; (2) graphical trends for alcohol consumption and liver disease mortality; and (3) empirical results for policy effects on alcohol consumption and drinking patterns. We also compare cross-country results for three select outcomes-binge drinking, alcohol consumption by youth and young adults, and heavy consumption by older adults. Overall, we find a lack of consistent results for consumption both within- and across-countries, with a general finding that alcohol tax interventions had selective, rather than broad, impacts on subpopulations and drinking patterns. Policy implications of these findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 16187598
- Volume :
- 18
- Issue :
- 4
- Database :
- Complementary Index
- Journal :
- European Journal of Health Economics
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 122407812
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s10198-016-0795-0