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DO STATE EXCISE TAXES REDUCE ALCOHOL‐RELATED FATAL MOTOR VEHICLE CRASHES?
Author(s) -
McClelland Robert,
Iselin John
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
economic inquiry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.823
H-Index - 72
eISSN - 1465-7295
pISSN - 0095-2583
DOI - 10.1111/ecin.12811
Subject(s) - excise , drunk driving , economics , alcohol , heavy drinking , motor vehicle crash , poison control , demographic economics , injury prevention , environmental health , medicine , macroeconomics , biochemistry , chemistry
We study the effect of alcohol excise taxes on alcohol‐related fatal traffic crashes by examining two large increases in excise taxes in Illinois that occurred in 1999 and in 2009. Using the synthetic control method, we do not find evidence that the tax increases led to a long‐term reduction in fatal alcohol‐related motor vehicle crashes following either tax increase. These results are robust across several specifications and pass sensitivity tests. However, we find evidence that following the 2009 increase Illinois counties that do not share a border with another state experienced a temporary drop in alcohol‐related traffic fatalities. ( JEL H71, H75, 118)