Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/278949 
Year of Publication: 
2023
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 16251
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
Unexpected mobility disruptions during lockdown during the first wave of COVID-19 became 'tipping points' with the potential to alter pre-pandemic routines sensitive to socialisation. This paper investigates the impact of lockdown exposure on alcohol consumption. We document two findings using information from the Google Mobility Report and longitudinal data from the Understanding Society in the United Kingdom. First, we find a sharp reduction in both actual mobility and alcohol use (consistent with a "still and dry pandemic for the many" hypothesis). However, we document an increase in alcohol use among heavy drinkers, implying a split behavioural response to COVID-19 mobility restrictions based on alcohol use prior to the pandemic. Second, using the predictions of the prevalence-response elasticity theory, we find that the pandemic's reduction in social contacts is responsible for a 2.8 percentage point reduction in drinking among men.
Subjects: 
mobility
routines
alcohol use
mobility restrictions
lockdown
health behaviours
difference in differences
COVID-19
JEL: 
I13
I18
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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