The Cost of Binge Drinking

Arbeitspapier

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.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: CESifo Working Paper ; No. 5214

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Health Behavior ; Health: Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health ; Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law
• Subject: alcohol ; health ; road accidents ; arrests ; externalities

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Francesconi, Marco ; James, Jonathan
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Center for Economic Studies and ifo Institute (CESifo)
• (where): Munich
• (when): 2015

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/107389
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:44 AM CET