Blog
Alcohol deaths and the price mechanism
27th January 2008
A doubling of the rate of alcohol-related deaths over a period of fifteen years - how significant is this? The numbers of people involved seems to be relatively small given that, in a typical year, there are over 520,000 deaths registered in the UK. But alcohol-related deaths are invariably premature and the heartache of losing a member of the family prematurely are particularly acute. How do we go about trying to put a monetary value on the stress and anguish of lives ruined by excessive alcoholic consumption? I suspect too that the figures do not include deaths indirectly linked to alcohol including traffic accidents and casulties where the driver was over the legal limit.
How best to curb the growth of alcohol consumption especially among the young? For all of the policy options put forward to alleviate binge drinking - including a reversal of the 24 hour licensing laws and further restrictions on alcohol advertising - why not place a simple but strong belief in the power of the price mechanism. If alcohol was more expensive then fewer people would drink. People do respond to incentives.
Pre-teens turning to alcohol (BBC news audio - visual)
Men drink far more than women (BBC news)
Alcohol Concern
Geoff Riley
Geoff Riley FRSA has been teaching Economics for over thirty years. He has over twenty years experience as Head of Economics at leading schools. He writes extensively and is a contributor and presenter on CPD conferences in the UK and overseas.