Liquid Assets? the Short-Run Liabilities of Binge Drinking

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Francesconi, Marco; James, Jonathan
• 署名单位: University of Essex; University of Bath
• 刊物名称: ECONOMIC JOURNAL
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0013-0133
• DOI: 10.1111/ecoj.12627
• 发表日期: 2019
• 页码: 2090-2136
• 关键词: illicit drug-use; alcohol-consumption; instrumental variables; educational-attainment; traffic fatalities; teen drinking; young-people; legal access; beer taxes; HEALTH

摘要

We estimate the effect of binge drinking on road accidents, accident and emergency (A&E) attendances and arrests using a variety of unique English data and a two-sample instrumental variables estimation procedure. Drinking $10+$ units of alcohol in a single session increases road accidents by 18.6%, injury-related A&E attendances by 6.6% and arrests by 71%. The marginal increase from eight to $10+$ alcoholic units implies nearly 6,100 extra road accidents every year, 63,000 additional A&E attendances and 100,000 additional arrests. The externality per mile driven by a binge drinker is about five pence and the punishment that internalises this externality is equivalent to a fine of 22,800 pound per drunk driving arrest.