TY  - JOUR
AU  - Moore,Michael J.
AU  - Cook,Philip J.
TI  - Habit and Heterogeneity in the Youthful Demand for Alcohol
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 5152
PY  - 1995
Y2  - June 1995
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w5152
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w5152.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Michael J. Moore
Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Polic
University of Virginia
Charlottesville VA 22904
E-Mail: mjm8w@virginia.edu

Philip J. Cook
Sanford School of Public Policy
Duke University
215 Sanford Building
Durham, NC 27708-0245
Tel: 919 613 7360
Fax:  919/681-8288
E-Mail: pcook@duke.edu
AB  - Observed patterns of youthful drinking indicate substantial persistence.  This paper analyzes how much of that persistence reflects the actual development of a habit, and how much is due to unobserved aspects of the individual and the environment.  The role of restrictions on alcohol availability, both in the current period and in adolescence, is also explored.  We find that much of the observed persistence represents habit formation, and not unobserved characteristics.  Consequently, restrictions on availability, particularly at an early age, alter subsequent patterns of alcohol consumption and abuse.
ER  -