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Drink, death, and driving: Do blood alcohol content limit reductions improve road safety?

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  • Benjamin Cooper
  • Markus Gehrsitz
  • Stuart G. McIntyre

Abstract

This study exploits a natural experiment in Scotland where the legal blood alcohol content (BAC) limit was reduced from 0.8 to 0.5 mg per 100 ml of blood while staying constant in all other parts of the United Kingdom. Using a difference‐in‐differences design, we find that this change in the BAC level had no impact on either traffic accident or fatality rates.

Suggested Citation

  • Benjamin Cooper & Markus Gehrsitz & Stuart G. McIntyre, 2020. "Drink, death, and driving: Do blood alcohol content limit reductions improve road safety?," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(7), pages 841-847, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:hlthec:v:29:y:2020:i:7:p:841-847
    DOI: 10.1002/hec.4016
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. A. Colin Cameron & Jonah B. Gelbach & Douglas L. Miller, 2008. "Bootstrap-Based Improvements for Inference with Clustered Errors," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 90(3), pages 414-427, August.
    2. Benjamin Hansen, 2015. "Punishment and Deterrence: Evidence from Drunk Driving," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 105(4), pages 1581-1617, April.
    3. Christopher Carpenter & Carlos Dobkin, 2009. "The Effect of Alcohol Consumption on Mortality: Regression Discontinuity Evidence from the Minimum Drinking Age," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 1(1), pages 164-182, January.
    4. Grabowski, David C. & Morrisey, Michael A., 2006. "Do higher gasoline taxes save lives?," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 90(1), pages 51-55, January.
    5. Douglas J. Young & Agnieszka Bielinska-Kwapisz, 2006. "Alcohol Prices, Consumption, and Traffic Fatalities," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 72(3), pages 690-703, January.
    6. Thomas S Dee, 2001. "Does setting limits save lives? The case of 0.08 BAC laws," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 20(1), pages 111-128.
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    Blog mentions

    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. Chris Sampson’s journal round-up for 15th June 2020
      by Chris Sampson in The Academic Health Economists' Blog on 2020-06-15 11:00:19

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    Cited by:

    1. Francesconi, Marco & James, Jonathan, 2021. "None for the Road? Stricter Drink Driving Laws and Road Accidents," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
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    3. Fry, Jane M., 2023. "Do increased speeding fines save lives?," Economics of Transportation, Elsevier, vol. 34(C).
    4. Bokhari, Farasat A.S. & Dobson, Paul W. & Morciano, Marcello & Suhrcke, Marc, 2023. "Banning volume discounts to curb excessive consumption: A cautionary tale," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).

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