Study Examines Public Health Effects of Minimum Legal Drinking Age
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July 15, 2011
Researchers recently conducted economic analyses to estimate the effects of the minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) on deaths, injuries, crime, and alcohol consumption, and to identify the costs and benefits of lowering the drinking age to 18. They report that a large body of evidence shows that setting the MLDA at 21 clearly reduces alcohol consumption and its major harms. The researchers conclude that “ . . . the evidence strongly suggests that setting the minimum legal drinking age at 21 is better from a cost and benefit perspective than setting it at 18 and that any proposal to reduce the drinking age should face a very high burden of proof.”
Results are published in the Journal of Economic Perspectives.
Carpenter, C., & Dobkin, C. (2011). The minimum legal drinking age and public health. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 25(2), 133–156.