Economic Evidence Regarding Alcohol Price Elasticities and Price Responses by Heavy Drinkers, Binge Drinkers, and Alcohol-Related Harms: Summary of Results for Meta-Analysis, Systematic Reviews, and Natural Experiments in Alcohol Policy
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17140/PHOJ-1-108Keywords:
Alcohol policy; Alcohol prices; Health effects.Abstract
Numerous economic studies examine effects of alcohol price and tax changes on drinking,drinking patterns and alcohol-related harms. The consensus view is that prices are an effective instrument for addressing issues of heavy drinking, binge drinking, and adverse outcomes associated with alcohol. In a series of published studies, I present evidence that this view is overly optimistic, and results for alcohol prices are more varied, complex, or nuanced. This paper provides a brief overview of main results in eight studies. Alcohol tax and price interventions have selective, rather than broad, impacts on sub-populations, drinking patterns, and alcohol-related harms.
References
Babor T, Caetano R, Casswell S, et al. Alcohol: No Ordinary Commodity. 2nd ed. New York, USA: Oxford: Oxford University Press; 2010.
Naimi TS, Daley JI, Xuan A, et al. Who would pay for state alcohol tax increases in the United States. Prev Chronic Dis. 2016; 13: 1-11. doi: 10.5888/pcd13.150450
Nelson JP. Estimating the price elasticity of beer: Meta-analysis of data with heterogeneity, dependence, and publication bias. J Health Econ. 2014; 33: 180-187. doi: 10.1016/j. jhealeco.2013.11.009
Nelson JP. Meta-analysis of alcohol price and income elasticities with corrections for publication bias. Health Econ Rev. 2013; 3(1): 1-17. doi: 10.1186/2191-1991-3-17
Nelson JP. Robust demand elasticities for wine and distilled spirits: Meta-analysis with corrections for outliers and publication bias. J Wine Econom. 2013; 8(3): 294-317. doi: 10.1017/jwe.2013.24
Ioannidis JPA. Why most published research findings are false. PLOS Med. 2005; 2(8): e124. doi: 10.1371/journal. pmed.0020124
Rothstein HR, Sutton AJ, Borenstein M. Publication Bias in Meta-Analysis. Chicester, UK: Wiley; 2005.
Roberts CJ, Stanley TD. Meta-regression analysis: issues of publication bias in economics. Oxford, UK: Blackwell; 2005.
Stanley TD, Doucouliagos H. Meta-regression Analysis in Economics and Business. London, UK: Routledge; 2012.
Atkinson RL, Macdonald I. White hat bias: The need for authors to have the spin stop with them. Int J Obes. 2010; 34(1): 83. doi: 10.1038/ijo.2009.269
Nelson JP. Alcohol marketing, adolescent drinking, and publication bias in longitudinal studies: A critical survey using meta-analysis. J Econ Surv. 2011; 25(2): 191-232. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-6419.2010.00627.x
Wagenaar AC, Salois MJ, Komro KA. Effects of beverage alcohol price and tax levels on drinking: A meta-analysis of 1003 estimates from 112 studies. Addiction. 2009; 104(2): 179-190. doi: 10.1111/j.1360-0443.2008.02438.x
Nelson JP. Alcohol affordability and alcohol demand: Cross-country trends and panel data estimates, 1975-2008. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2014; 38(4): 1167-1175. doi: 10.1111/acer.12345
Nelson JP. Does heavy drinking by adults respond to higher alcohol prices and taxes? A survey and assessment. Econ Analysis Policy. 2013; 43(3): 265-291. doi: 10.1016/S0313- 5926(13)50032-4
Nelson JP. Alcohol prices and mortality due to liver cirrhosis: Robust regression results for the European Union, 2000-2010. SAGE Open. 2015; 5: 1-11. doi: 10.1177/2158244015593118
Nelson JP. Gender differences in alcohol demand: A systematic review of the role of prices and taxes. Health Econ. 2014; 23(10): 1260-1280. doi: 10.1002/hec.2974
Nelson JP. Binge drinking and alcohol prices: A systematic review of age-related results from econometric studies, natural experiments and field studies. Health Econ Rev. 2015; 5: 6. doi: 10.1186/s13561-014-0040-4
Elder RW, Lawrence B, Ferguson A, et al. The effectiveness of tax policy interventions for reducing excessive alcohol consumption and related harms. Am J Prev Med. 2010; 38(2): 217-229. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2009.11.005
Wagenaar AC, Tobler AL, Komro KA. Effects of alcohol tax and price policies on morbidity and mortality: A systematic review. Am J Public Health. 2010; 100(11): 2270-2278. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2009.186007
Nelson JP, McNall AD. What happens to drinking when alcohol policy changes? A systematic review of five natural experiments for alcohol taxes, prices, and availability. Eur J Health Econ. 2016; 1-18. doi: 10.1007/s10198-016-0795-0
Nelson JP, McNall AD. Alcohol prices, taxes, and alcohol-related harms: A critical review of natural experiments in alcohol policy for nine countries. Health Policy. 2016; 20(3): 264-272. doi: 10.1016/j.healthpol.2016.01.018
Pogue TF, Sgontz LG. Taxing to control social cost: The case of alcohol. Am Econ Rev. 1989; 79(1): 235-243. Web site. http:// www.jstor.org/stable/1804784?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents. Accessed June 1, 2016.
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
All content published in Public Health - Open Journal (PHOJ) is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). This license allows anyone to copy, distribute, transmit, and adapt the work — including for commercial purposes — provided appropriate credit is given to the original author(s) and source.