Changes in Alcohol Retail Laws and Foot Traffic at Liquor Stores

Nathan Palardy, Marco Costanigro, Joshua Berning and Jude Bayham

Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, 2026, vol. 48, issue 2, 447-461

Abstract: We study how expanding alcohol availability at grocery and convenience stores affects consumer traffic in liquor stores by leveraging recent changes in state‐level alcohol distribution laws in a difference‐in‐difference quasi‐experimental design. Results indicate that more extensive liberalization results in higher losses of traffic at liquor stores and that the impact is dynamic over time. Additionally, the overall impact at rural stores is larger compared to urban stores. We discuss the economic, geographic, and behavioral factors behind the heterogeneous impacts of the policy and develop a general theory of the effects of liberalization on the liquor store sector.

Date: 2026
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https://doi.org/10.1002/aepp.70037

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:wly:apecpp:v:48:y:2026:i:2:p:447-461

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