title: U.S. alcohol affordability and real tax rates, 1950-2011.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The affordability of alcoholic beverages, determined by the relationship of prices to incomes, may be an important factor in relation to heavy drinking, but little is known about how affordability has changed over time.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To calculate real prices and affordability measures for alcoholic beverages in the U.S. over the period from 1950 to 2011.
  
  
  METHODS
  Affordability is calculated as the percentage of mean disposable income required to purchase 1 drink per day of the cheapest spirits, as well as popular brands of spirits, beer, and wine. Alternative income and price measures also are considered. Analyses were conducted in 2012.
  
  
  RESULTS
  One drink per day of the cheapest brand of spirits required 0.29% of U.S. mean per capita disposable income in 2011 as compared to 1.02% in 1980, 2.24% in 1970, 3.61% in 1960, and 4.46% in 1950. One drink per day of a popular beer required 0.96% of income in 2010 compared to 4.87% in 1950, whereas a low-priced wine in 2011 required 0.36% of income compared to 1.05% in 1978. Reduced real federal and state tax rates were an important source of the declines in real prices.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Alcoholic beverages sold for off-premises consumption are more affordable today than at any time in the past 60 years; dramatic increases in affordability occurred particularly in the 1960s and 1970s. Declines in real prices are a major component of this change. Increases in alcoholic beverage tax rates and/or implementing minimum prices, together with indexing these to inflation could be used to mitigate further declines in real prices.
authors.affiliation: Alcohol Research Group, Public Health Institute, Emeryville, CA 94608, USA. wkerr@arg.org
authors.forename: William C
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Kerr
authors.forename: Deidre
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Patterson
authors.forename: Thomas K
authors.initials: TK
authors.lastname: Greenfield
authors.forename: Alison Snow
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: Kerry Anne
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: McGeary
authors.forename: Joseph V
authors.initials: JV
authors.lastname: Terza
authors.forename: Christopher J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Ruhm
mesh_terms: D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000191:economics*; D000434:Alcoholic Beverages / Q000191:economics*; D001515:Beer / Q000191:economics; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income; D013660:Taxes / Q000639:trends*; D014481:United States; D014920:Wine / Q000191:economics