Effects of Sunday sales restrictions on overall and day-specific alcohol consumption: evidence from Canada.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to estimate the effect of Sunday alcohol-sales policies on day-specific and overall alcohol consumption.


METHODS
Individual-level data on overall and day-specific alcohol consumption from Canada's National Population Health Surveys, 1994-1999, were linked to province-level policy variation in whether a Sunday sales restriction was present. We compared individuals in provinces with sales restrictions with those in provinces without such restrictions, and we estimated models of day-specific and overall alcohol consumption. We used a standard cross-section model as well as a quasi-experimental approach that relied on Ontario's liberalization of Sunday sales in 1997.


RESULTS
Sunday sales were associated with a significant increase in drinking on Sundays of 7% to 15%. We found evidence of substitution away from drinking on Saturdays and no evidence for increases in overall drinking.


CONCLUSIONS
Our results suggest that repealing Sunday sales prohibitions is unlikely to result in increased overall alcohol consumption, although such liberalization may change the within-week distribution.
Carpenter
Christopher S
CS
Department of Economics/Public Policy, The Paul Merage School of Business, 428 SB, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California 92697-3125, USA. kittc@uci.edu
Eisenberg
Daniel
D
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D000434:Alcoholic Beverages / Q000600:supply & distribution*; D002170:Canada / Q000453:epidemiology; D003132:Commerce / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013997:Time Factors