Quality Substitution Among Heavy and AUD Drinkers and Alcohol Tax Policy

Economic & Policy Implications of Disproportionate Heavy & Problem Drinking Analyses under this project will obtain improved estimates of alcohol expenditures among US drinkers by drinker-type (light, moderate, heavy, problem) and drinking-patterns as well as within gender and ethnicity groups using detailed consumption data from the 2000 and 2005 National Alcohol Survey (NAS) and the 2004-2005 National Epidemiological Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC) with detailed price data from Uniform Product Code (UPC) barcode scanner data. Using these same data sets we will quantify and bound drinkers’ preferences for lower-priced beverages and the effect of these preferences on expenditure shares by drinker type. Further, we will estimate and bound the market value of heavy drinking and to examine the extent to which economic incentives may conflict with or enhance alcohol prevention policy options, particularly as they relate to taxation.