title: The Minimum Legal Drinking Age and Crime.
abstract: We use variation from the minimum legal drinking age to estimate the causal effect of access to alcohol on crime. Using a census of arrests in California and a regression discontinuity design, we find that individuals just over age 21 are 5.9% more likely to be arrested than individuals just under 21. This increase is mostly due to assaults, alcohol-related offenses, and nuisance crimes. These results suggest that policies that restrict access to alcohol have the potential to substantially reduce crime.
authors.affiliation: Vanderbilt University.
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Carpenter
authors.affiliation: University of California at Santa Cruz.
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dobkin