Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/268208 
Year of Publication: 
2022
Citation: 
[Journal:] The Review of Economics and Statistics [ISSN:] 1530-9142 [Issue:] Online Early, Just Accepted [Publisher:] MIT Press [Place:] Cambridge, MA [Year:] 2022 [Pages:] 1-44
Publisher: 
MIT Press, Cambridge, MA
Abstract: 
This paper evaluates the impact of a sudden and unexpected nation-wide alcohol sales ban in South Africa. We find that this policy causally reduced injury-induced mortality in the country by at least 14%. We argue that this estimate constitutes a lower bound on the true impact of alcohol on injury-induced mortality. We also document a sharp drop in violent crimes, indicating a tight link between alcohol and aggressive behavior in society. Our results underscore the severe harm that alcohol can cause and point towards a role for policy measures that target the heaviest drinkers in society.
Subjects: 
alcohol
mortality
economics
health
crime
South Africa
COVID-19
violence
JEL: 
I18
I12
K42
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Creative Commons License: 
cc-by Logo
Document Type: 
Article
Document Version: 
Published Version

Files in This Item:
File
Size





Items in EconStor are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.