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Alcohol consumption by youth: Peers, parents, or prices?

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  • Ajilore, Olugbenga
  • Amialchuk, Aliaksandr
  • Egan, Keven

Abstract

Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent to Adult Health, we estimate the effect of peers’ alcohol consumption and alcohol prices on the drinking habits of high-school-age youth. We use the two-stage residual inclusion method to account for the endogeneity of peer drinking in nonlinear models. For our sample of high school students, we find that peer effects are statistically and economically significant regarding the choice to participate in drinking but are not significant for the frequency of drinking, including binge drinking. Regarding alcohol prices, even though we have good price variation in our sample, alcohol prices are not found to be significant. The results are important for policymakers who are considering policies to reduce underage drinking, as we conclude that no significant impact on underage drinking will result from low-tax states’ increasing excise taxes on alcohol so they are similar to those of high-tax states. Policymakers may choose to focus instead on the influence of peers and changing the social norm behavior.

Suggested Citation

  • Ajilore, Olugbenga & Amialchuk, Aliaksandr & Egan, Keven, 2016. "Alcohol consumption by youth: Peers, parents, or prices?," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 23(C), pages 76-83.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ehbiol:v:23:y:2016:i:c:p:76-83
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ehb.2016.07.003
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    2. Mangiavacchi, Lucia & Piccoli, Luca, 2018. "Parental alcohol consumption and adult children's educational attainment," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 132-145.
    3. Ana Balsa & Carlos Díaz, 2018. "Social interactions in health behaviors and conditions," Documentos de Trabajo/Working Papers 1802, Facultad de Ciencias Empresariales y Economia. Universidad de Montevideo..
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    5. Rose, C.; & Williams, J.; & Bretteville-Jensen, A.L.;, 2024. "Do Peers Support or Subvert Recovery from Substance Use Disorders," Health, Econometrics and Data Group (HEDG) Working Papers 24/18, HEDG, c/o Department of Economics, University of York.
    6. Hein Htet & Yu Mon Saw & Thu Nandar Saw & Nang Mie Mie Htun & Khaing Lay Mon & Su Myat Cho & Thinzar Thike & Aye Thazin Khine & Tetsuyoshi Kariya & Eiko Yamamoto & Nobuyuki Hamajima, 2020. "Prevalence of alcohol consumption and its risk factors among university students: A cross-sectional study across six universities in Myanmar," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(2), pages 1-14, February.
    7. Aliaksandr Amialchuk & Olugbenga Ajilore & Kevin Egan, 2019. "The influence of misperceptions about social norms on substance use among school‐aged adolescents," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(6), pages 736-747, June.

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