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An Investigation of the Effects of Alcohol Policies on Youth STDs

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  • Michael Grossman
  • Robert Kaestner
  • Sara Markowitz

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of alcohol policies in reducing the incidence of sexually transmitted diseases among youth. Previous research has shown that risky sexual practices (e.g., unprotected sex and multiple partners) that increase the risk of contracting a STD are highly correlated with alcohol use. If alcohol is a cause of risky sexual behavior, then policies that reduce the consumption of alcohol may also reduce the incidence of STDs. In this paper, we examine the relationship between alcohol policies (e.g., beer taxes and statutes pertaining to alcohol sales and drunk driving) and rates of gonorrhea and AIDS among teenagers and young adults. Results indicate that higher beer taxes are associated with lower rates of gonorrhea for males and are suggestive of lower AIDS rates. Strict drunk driving policies in the form of zero tolerance laws may also lower the gonorrhea rate among males under the legal drinking age.

Suggested Citation

  • Michael Grossman & Robert Kaestner & Sara Markowitz, 2004. "An Investigation of the Effects of Alcohol Policies on Youth STDs," NBER Working Papers 10949, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:10949
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Michael J. Moore & Philip J. Cook, 1995. "Habit and Heterogeneity in the Youthful Demand for Alcohol," NBER Working Papers 5152, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Michael Grossman & Frank J. Chaloupka & Henry Saffer & Adit Laixuthai, 1993. "Effects of Alcohol Price Policy on Youth," NBER Working Papers 4385, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Marianne Bertrand & Esther Duflo & Sendhil Mullainathan, 2004. "How Much Should We Trust Differences-In-Differences Estimates?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 119(1), pages 249-275.
    4. Sen, Bisakha, 2002. "Does alcohol-use increase the risk of sexual intercourse among adolescents? Evidence from the NLSY97," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 21(6), pages 1085-1093, November.
    5. Thomas S. Dee, 2001. "The Effects of Minimum Legal Drinking Ages on Teen Childbearing," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 36(4), pages 823-838.
    6. Badi H. Baltagi, 2021. "Econometric Analysis of Panel Data," Springer Texts in Business and Economics, Springer, edition 6, number 978-3-030-53953-5, August.
    7. Carpenter, Christopher, 2004. "How do Zero Tolerance Drunk Driving Laws work?," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 23(1), pages 61-83, January.
    8. Rees, Daniel I. & Argys, Laura M. & Averett, Susan L., 2001. "New evidence on the relationship between substance use and adolescent sexual behavior," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 20(5), pages 835-845, September.
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    Cited by:

    1. Armineh Zohrabian & Tomas J Philipson, 2010. "External Costs of Risky Health Behaviors Associated with Leading Actual Causes of Death in the U.S.: A Review of the Evidence and Implications for Future Research," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 7(6), pages 1-13, June.
    2. May Luong & Anindya Sen, 2006. "Sex, Teen Pregnancies, STDs, and Beer Prices: Empirical Evidence from Canada," Working Papers 06001, University of Waterloo, Department of Economics, revised Jan 2006.
    3. Thomas S. Dee, 2008. "Forsaking all others? The effects of same‐sex partnership laws on risky sex," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 118(530), pages 1055-1078, July.
    4. Pinka Chatterji & Jeffrey DeSimone, 2006. "High School Alcohol Use and Young Adult Labor Market Outcomes," NBER Working Papers 12529, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Sara Markowitz & Robert Kaestner & Michael Grossman, 2005. "An Investigation of the Effects of Alcohol Consumption and Alcohol Policies on Youth Risky Sexual Behaviors," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 95(2), pages 263-266, May.
    6. Ana I. Gil Lacruz & Marta Gil Lacruz & Juan Oliva, 2009. "Are Drinkers Prone to Engage in Risky Sexual Behaviors?," Working Papers 2009-32, FEDEA.
    7. Thomas S. Dee, 2005. "Forsaking All Others? The Effects of "Gay Marriage" on Risky Sex," NBER Working Papers 11327, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

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    • I1 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health

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