Alkoholin vähimmäisikärajojen vaikutus sairastavuuteen ja kuolleisuuteen Suomessa
Main funder
Funds granted by main funder (€)
- 5 000,00
Funding program
Project timetable
Project start date: 01/01/2024
Project end date: 31/12/2025
Summary
Alcohol misuse and abuse leads to significant health-related and other costs to the society in all developed countries. Empirical literature documents a negative relationship between the minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) and health outcomes, focusing on North America, Australia, and New Zealand. We contribute to the literature on MLDA and morbidity in three ways. First, we provide one of the first estimates for Europe. The results from other continents might not apply directly to the European context, because drinking ages and car ownership are lower in Europe than in North America or Oceania, and underage drinking is more common in Europe than in the United States. Second, we provide evidence on a graduated MLDA of ages 18 and 20. This MLDA is different from the ones in Sweden (strength of alcohol at age 18) and Germany (age limits) studied previously. Third, and most importantly, we provide the first estimates of the potential spillover effects on younger siblings after the older sibling turns 18 or 20. Complete family linkages in our nationwide administrative data allow investigation of the within-family externalities. Focusing on the existence and magnitude of such unintended external costs is crucial because they may be associated with additional deadweight loss to society and thus represent an economic rationale for government interventions to prevent and reduce alcohol-related harms. Our econometric analysis using RD design is based on nationwide administrative data for all Finnish individuals born between 1956 and 1993.
Principal Investigator
Other persons related to this project (JYU)
Primary responsible unit
Follow-up groups
- Behaviour change, health, and well-being across the lifespan (University of Jyväskylä JYU) BC-Well
- Economics (School of Business and Economics JSBE) KTT
- Policy-Relevant Economics and Competitiveness of Economy (focus area) (School of Business and Economics JSBE) ; Formerly Policy-Relevant Economics
- School of Wellbeing (University of Jyväskylä JYU) JYU.Well
Profiling area: Behaviour change, health, and well-being across the lifespan (University of Jyväskylä JYU) BC-Well; School of Wellbeing (University of Jyväskylä JYU) JYU.Well
