Does drinking impair college performance? Evidence from a regression discontinuity approach

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Carrell, Scott E.; Hoekstra, Mark; West, James E.
• 署名单位: University of California System; University of California Davis; National Bureau of Economic Research; Pennsylvania Commonwealth System of Higher Education (PCSHE); University of Pittsburgh; United States Department of Defense; United States Air Force; United States Air Force Academy
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0047-2727
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2010.08.008
• 发表日期: 2011
• 页码: 54-62
• 关键词: Public health; education

摘要

This paper examines the effect of alcohol consumption on student achievement. To do so, we exploit the discontinuity in drinking at age 21 at a college in which the minimum legal drinking age is strictly enforced. We find that drinking causes significant reductions in academic performance, particularly for the highest-performing students. This suggests that the negative consequences of alcohol consumption extend beyond the narrow segment of the population at risk of more severe, low-frequency, outcomes. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.