Alcohol availability and alcohol-related motor vehicle accidents |
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| Authors: | R. Todd Jewell Robert W. Brown |
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| Affiliation: | 1. School of Social Sciences, University of Texas at Dallas , PO Box 830688-GR31, Richardson , Texas , 75083-0688 , USA;2. Department of Economics , University of North Texas , PO Box 13408 Denton, Texas , 76203-3408 , USA |
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| Abstract: | The impact of alcohol availability on alcohol-related motor vehicle accidents centres on the sensitivity of consumption to changes in the full price of alcohol – the dollar price of alcohol plus the time and travel costs associated with acquiring alcohol. Reducing the number of licensed alcohol vendors raises the time and travel costs of alcohol; if alcohol consumption is responsive to this price increase, then drinking and driving may decrease. Using data on the 254 counties in the US state of Texas, the results in this paper show that alcohol availability has a significant impact on alcohol-related motor vehicle accidents. Thus, alcohol vendor restrictions can be an important policy tool in reducing such accidents. |
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