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Drinking is Different! Examining the Role of Locus of Control for Alcohol Consumption

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  • Marco Caliendo
  • Juliane Hennecke

Abstract

Unhealthy behavior can be extremely costly from a micro- and macroeconomic perspective and exploring the determinants of such behavior is highly important from an economist’s point of view. We examine whether locus of control (LOC) can explain alcohol consumption as an important domain of health behavior. LOC measures how much an individual believes in the causal relationship between her own actions and her life’s outcomes. While earlier literature showed that an increasing internal LOC is associated with increased health-conscious behavior in domains such as smoking, exercise or diets, we find that drinking seems to be different. Using German panel data, we find a significant positive effect of having an internal LOC on the probability of moderate and regular drinking. We discuss two likely mechanisms for this relationship and find interesting gender differences. While social investments play an important role for men and women, risk perceptions are especially relevant for men.

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  • Marco Caliendo & Juliane Hennecke, 2020. "Drinking is Different! Examining the Role of Locus of Control for Alcohol Consumption," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 1088, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    • Handle: RePEc:diw:diwsop:diw_sp1088
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    Keywords

    locus of control; alcohol consumption; health behavior; risk perception; social investment;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making

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