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Differences in liquor prices between control state‐operated and license‐state retail outlets in the U nited S tates
Author(s) -
Siegel Michael,
DeJong William,
Albers Alison B.,
Naimi Timothy S.,
Jernigan David H.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
addiction
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.424
H-Index - 193
eISSN - 1360-0443
pISSN - 0965-2140
DOI - 10.1111/j.1360-0443.2012.04069.x
Subject(s) - license , monopoly , business , state (computer science) , advertising , confidence interval , economics , mathematics , statistics , microeconomics , political science , algorithm , law
Aims This study aims to compare the average price of liquor in the U nited S tates between retail alcohol outlets in states that have a monopoly (‘control’ states) with those that do not (‘licence’ states). Design A cross‐sectional study of brand‐specific alcohol prices in the U nited S tates. Setting We determined the average prices in F ebruary 2012 of 74 brands of liquor among the 13 control states that maintain a monopoly on liquor sales at the retail level and among a sample of 50 license‐state liquor stores, using their online‐available prices. Measurements We calculated average prices for 74 brands of liquor by control versus license state. We used a random‐effects regression model to estimate differences between control and license state prices—overall and by alcoholic beverage type. We also compared prices between the 13 control states. Findings The overall mean price for the 74 brands was $27.79 in the license states [95% confidence interval ( CI ): $25.26–30.32] and $29.82 in the control states (95% CI : $26.98–32.66). Based on the random‐effects linear regression model, the average liquor price was approximately $2 lower (6.9% lower) in license states. Conclusions In the U nited S tates monopoly of alcohol retail outlets appears to be associated with slightly higher liquor prices.