Results from a recent analysis reveal that the availability of alcohol associated with turning 21 years old may have relatively large effects on risky behaviors, especially in men. The findings are published in Contemporary Economic Policy.
The analysis of national survey data from the Add Health (a school-based study of the health-related behaviors of adolescents and their outcomes in young adulthood) found evidence that Minimum Legal Drinking Age (MLDA) laws produce sharp differences in alcohol consumption and a variety of risky behaviors related to alcohol use for youths on either side of the age 21 cutoff. The MLDA reduces binge drinking by approximately 5 percentage points as well as a variety of other consumption measures. For males, there are marked increases in reports of drunk driving, risky sexual activities, violence, and interpersonal problems with friends.
More research is needed to determine whether these results indicate a need to change the MLDA to age 18 or 25 or some other age.
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Additional Information
Link to Study: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/coep.12405
About Journal
First published in 1982 as Contemporary Policy Issues, Contemporary Economic Policy publishes scholarly economic research and analysis on issues of vital concern to economists, government, business, and other decision makers. Leading western scholars, including three Nobel laureates, are among CEP's authors. The objectives are to communicate results of high quality economic analysis to policymakers, focus high quality research and analysis on current policy issues of widespread concern, increase knowledge among economists of features of the economy key to understanding the impact of policy, and to advance methods of policy analysis.
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Journal
Contemporary Economic Policy