The Cost of Binge Drinking

Marco Francesconi, Jonathan James

Research output: Working paper / PreprintWorking paper

254 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

We estimate the effect of binge drinking on accident and emergency attendances, road accidents, arrests, and the number of police officers on duty using a variety of unique data from Britain and a two-sample minimum distance estimation procedure. Our estimates, which reveal sizeable effects of bingeing on all outcomes, are then used to monetize the short-term externalities of binge drinking. We find that these externalities are on average £4.9 billion per year ($7 billion), about £80 for each man, woman, and child living in the UK. The price that internalizes this externality is equivalent to an additional 9p per alcoholic unit, implying a 20% increase with respect to the current average price.
Original languageEnglish
Place of PublicationBath, U. K.
PublisherDepartment of Economics, University of Bath
Publication statusPublished - Feb 2015

Publication series

NameBath Economics Research Working Papers
Volume36/15

Keywords

  • Alcohol
  • health
  • road accidents
  • arrests
  • externalities

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'The Cost of Binge Drinking'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this