Working Paper: NBER ID: w15828
Authors: Christopher Carpenter; Carlos Dobkin
Abstract: We provide a critical review of research in economics that has examined causal relationships between alcohol use and crime. We lay out several causal pathways through which alcohol regulation and alcohol consumption may affect crime, including: direct pharmacological effects on aggression, reaction time, and motor impairment; excuse motivations; venues and social interactions; and victimization risk. We focus our review on four main types of alcohol regulations: price/tax restrictions, age-based availability restrictions, spatial availability restrictions, and temporal availability restrictions. We conclude that there is strong evidence that tax- and age-based restrictions on alcohol availability reduce crime, and we discuss implications for policy and practice.
Keywords: alcohol regulation; crime; economic analysis
JEL Codes: I1; K0
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Higher taxes on alcohol (H29) | Decrease in alcohol consumption (L66) |
| Decrease in alcohol consumption (L66) | Decrease in crime (K14) |
| Alcohol consumption (L66) | Crime (K42) |
| Unobserved factors (C29) | Confound relationship between alcohol consumption and crime (K14) |
| Tax-based restrictions on alcohol availability (H71) | Reduction in crime rates (K42) |
| Minimum legal drinking age increases (I19) | Reduction in crime among youths (K42) |
| Limiting density of alcohol outlets (D45) | Reduction in crime (K42) |