Health Consequences of Easier Access to Alcohol: New Zealand Evidence

Dean Scrimgeour and Emily Conover

No 2012-04, Working Papers from Department of Economics, Colgate University

Abstract: We evaluate the health effects of a reduction in New Zealand's minimum legal purchase age for alcohol. Difference-in-differences (DD) estimates show a substantial increase in alcohol-related hospitalizations among those newly eligible to purchase liquor, around 24.6% (s.e.=5.5%) for males and 22% (s.e.=8.1%) for females. There is less evidence of an effect among ineligible younger cohorts. There is little evidence of alcohol either complementing or substituting for drugs. We do not find evidence that earlier access to alcohol is associated with learning from experience. We also present regression discontinuity estimates, but emphasize DD estimates since in a simulation of a rational addiction model DD estimates are closer than regression discontinuity estimates to the policy's true effect.

Keywords: alcohol; minimum purchase age; youth; health; hospitalizations; New Zealand (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I12 I18 J13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012-01, Revised 2012-12-20
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dem and nep-hea
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Journal Article: Health consequences of easier access to alcohol: New Zealand evidence (2013)
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