TY  - JOUR
AU  - Ruhm,Christopher
TI  - Economic Conditions and Alcohol Problems
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 4914
PY  - 1994
Y2  - November 1994
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w4914
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w4914.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Christopher J. Ruhm
Frank Batten School of
Leadership and Public Policy
University of Virginia
235 McCormick Rd.
P.O. Box 400893
Charlottesville, VA 22904-40893
Tel: 434-243-3729
E-Mail: ruhm@virginia.edu
M2  - featured in NBER digest on 1994-12-01
AB  - This study investigates the relationship between macroeconomic conditions and two alcohol-related outcomes -- liquor consumption and highway vehicle fatalities.  Fixed-effect models are estimated for the 48 contiguous states over the 1975-1988 time period and within-state variations are the focus of analysis.  Alcohol consumption and traffic deaths vary procyclically, with a major portion of the effect of economic downturns attributed to reductions in incomes.  The intake of hard liquor is the most sensitive to the state of the macroeconomy. There is no evidence, however, that fluctuations in economic conditions have a disproportionate impact on the drunk-driving of young adults.
ER  -