title: The Mechanisms of Alcohol Control.
abstract: A substantial economics literature documents that tighter alcohol controls reduce alcohol-related harms, but far less is known about mechanisms. We use the universe of Canadian mortality records to document that Canada's Minimum Legal Drinking Age (MLDA) significantly reduces mortality rates of young men but has much smaller effects on women. Using drinking data that are far more detailed than in prior work, we document that the MLDA substantially reduces 'extreme' drinking among men but not women. Our results suggest that alcohol control efforts targeting young adults should focus on reducing extreme drinking behavior.
authors.affiliation: Department of Economics at Vanderbilt University.
authors.forename: Christopher S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Carpenter
authors.affiliation: Department of Economics at the University of California Santa Cruz.
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dobkin
authors.affiliation: Department of Economics at Dalhousie University.
authors.forename: Casey
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Warman