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Infrequency of Purchase, Individual Heterogeneity and Rational Addiction in Single Households’ Estimates of Alcohol Consumption

Author

Listed:
  • Pierpaolo Pierani
  • Silvia Tiezzi

    (University of Siena
    University of Siena)

Abstract

A pseudo-panel of Italian single households is used to test for rational addiction in alcohol consumption. These monthly consumption data raise problems of measurement errors and unobservable heterogeneity. To deal with the zeros in the dependent variable we adopt a specification based on infrequency of purchase. GMM estimators are used to deal with errors in variables and unobserved heterogeneity. There is evidence that alcohol consumers are actually forward-looking. Past consumption is also significant in explaining current consumption thus detecting the addictive nature of alcohol. Discount rates, the strength of addiction, short and long run price and income elasticities are significant and in line with the theoretical predictions. These results and the inclusion of a number of demographic and geographic characters deliver valuable information for public policy purposes and suggest significant differences driven by individual heterogeneity.

Suggested Citation

  • Pierpaolo Pierani & Silvia Tiezzi, 2011. "Infrequency of Purchase, Individual Heterogeneity and Rational Addiction in Single Households’ Estimates of Alcohol Consumption," Giornale degli Economisti, GDE (Giornale degli Economisti e Annali di Economia), Bocconi University, vol. 70(2), pages 93-116, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gde:journl:gde_v70_n2_p93-116
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    Cited by:

    1. Jon P. Nelson, 2014. "Gender Differences In Alcohol Demand: A Systematic Review Of The Role Of Prices And Taxes," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 23(10), pages 1260-1280, October.
    2. Eliason, Marcus & Johansson, Per & Nilsson, Martin, 2018. "Forward-looking moral hazard in social insurance: evidence from a natural experiment," Working Paper Series 2018:11, IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy.
    3. Laporte, Audrey & Dass, Adrian Rohit & Ferguson, Brian S., 2017. "Is the Rational Addiction model inherently impossible to estimate?," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 161-175.
    4. Eliason, Marcus & Johansson, Per & Nilsson, Martin, 2019. "Forward-looking moral hazard in social insurance," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 84-98.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    rational addiction; infrequency of purchase; GMM;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C23 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Models with Panel Data; Spatio-temporal Models
    • D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis

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