Paying the Tab: The Costs and Benefits of Alcohol Control

293 Pages·2007·3.19 MB·English

by  Philip J. Cook

Paying the Tab
Paying the Tab
THE COSTS AND BENEFITS
OF ALCOHOL CONTROL
Philip J. Cook
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS
PRINCETON AND OXFORD
Copyright © 2007 by Princeton University Press Published by Princeton University Press, 41 William
Street, Princeton, New Jersey 08540
In the United Kingdom: Princeton University Press, 3 Market Place, Woodstock, Oxfordshire OX20 1SY
All Rights Reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Cook, Philip J., 1946–
Paying the tab : the costs and benefits of alcohol control / Philip J. Cook.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-691-12520-6 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Alcoholism—Government policy—United
States. 2. Alcoholism—United States—Prevention. 3. Alcoholic beverages—Taxation—United States. I.
Title.
HV5292.C615 2007
363.4’10973—dc22 2006036836
British Library Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available This book has been composed in Sabon Printed
on acid-free paper.
press.princeton.edu
Printed in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To Judy
Contents
List of Illustrations
Preface
CHAPTER 1
Introduction
PART I Rise and Fall of Alcohol Control
CHAPTER 2
A Brief History of the Supply Side
CHAPTER 3
The Alcoholism Movement
PART II Evidence of Effectiveness
CHAPTER 4
Drinking: A Primer
CHAPTER 5
Prices and Quantities
CHAPTER 6
Alcohol Control as Injury Prevention
CHAPTER 7
Long-Term Effects: Hearts and Minds
CHAPTER 8
The Drinker’s Bonus
PART III Assessing Policy Options
CHAPTER 9
Evaluating Interventions
CHAPTER 10
Regulating Supply
CHAPTER 11
Taxing the Alcohol Industry
CHAPTER 12
Youth as a Special Case
CHAPTER 13
Alcohol-Control Policy for the Twenty-First Century
Methodological Appendix
Notes
References
Index
List of Illustrations
FIGURES
2.1 Federal Alcohol Excise Tax as a Percentage of Internal and Total Tax
Revenues (1863–1919)
2.2 Consumption of Alcohol before and during Prohibition (1900–1930)
4.1 Per Capita Consumption of Ethanol (1965–2003)
4.2 Number of Drinks Per Capita Consumed in the Past Month by Decile
4.3 Percentage of Population Subgroups Reporting Any Drinking in the Past
Twelve Months
4.4 Percentage of Population Reporting Binge Drinking in the Past Twelve
Months
5.1 U.S. Ethanol Consumption Per Capita (Age 14 and Over) and Price of
Alcohol (1970–2003)
5.2 Drinking Prevalence among Smokers and Nonsmokers
7.1 Distribution across Age Groups of Total Deaths by Fatal Injury and Heart
Disease (2003)
8.1 Median Earnings for Full-Time Workers by Gender and Drinking Status for
Population, Ages 27–34
8.2 Full-Time Status by Gender and Drinking Status for Population, Ages 27–34
8.3 A Causal Model of Drinking and Its Consequences
11.1 Comparing Real Federal Tax Rates for Beer, Wine, and Liquor (1970–
2005)
TABLES
2.1 Trends Possibly Affecting the Demand for Alcohol
2.2 Alcohol Consumption before and during Prohibition
2.3 Alcohol-Related Death Rates before and during Prohibition
2.4 Prohibition and Repeal, State by State
4.1 Logit Estimates for Any Drinking and Binge Drinking in the Past Twelve
Months, Age 18 and Over
5.1 Distribution of Abstainers by Main Reason for Not Drinking
5.2 Effects of Excise Taxes and Income on Alcohol Sales (1971–2000)
5.3 Effect of State Alcohol Taxes and Per Capita Alcohol Sales on Individual
Drinking Patterns
6.1 State Traffic Fatality Rates Per 100,000 Population, Ages 18–20
6.2 Change in Traffic Fatality Rates Per 100,000 Population, Two Age Groups
6.3 RASPP Studies of Alcohol-Related Traffic Mortality
6.4 Short-Run Elasticity Estimates
6.5 Estimated RASPP Effects of Excise Taxes
7.1 Estimated Probability of Death from Any Cause in the General U.S.
Population, Ages 35–69 (circa 1990)
8.1 The Drinker’s Bonus Refined: Earnings by Full-Time Workers, Ages 21–34
8.2 Odds of Being a Full-Time Worker, Ages 21–34
Appendix table