Citation

Carpenter CS, Dobkin C, Warman C. J. Hum. Resourc. 2016; 51(2): 328-356.

Affiliation

Department of Economics at Dalhousie University.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, University of Wisconsin Press)

DOI

10.3368/jhr.51.2.0314-6240R

PMID

27127308

PMCID

PMC4843837

Abstract

A substantial economics literature documents that tighter alcohol controls reduce alcohol-related harms, but far less is known about mechanisms. We use the universe of Canadian mortality records to document that Canada's Minimum Legal Drinking Age (MLDA) significantly reduces mortality rates of young men but has much smaller effects on women. Using drinking data that are far more detailed than in prior work, we document that the MLDA substantially reduces 'extreme' drinking among men but not women. Our results suggest that alcohol control efforts targeting young adults should focus on reducing extreme drinking behavior.

Language: en