The Demands of Alcohol on the Economic Aspect - Research Paper Example

School The Effect of Ban on Alcohol The ban on alcoholic drinking can be traced to as early as 1920 when the “18th Amendment to theConstitution had been officially ratified” and it was aimed to put an end to the evil of drinking (National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse). In 2006, the Center in Alcohol Marketing and Youth has released recent figures and information about underage drinking in the United States. The study reports of six problems conclusions to underage drinking: “alcohol use among young people under 21 is the leading drug problem in the United States, girls are binge drinking more, underage drinking has serious consequences, underage youth continue to find alcohol easily accessible, youth exposure to alcohol advertising is substantial, long-term studies have shown that youth who see, hear, and read more alcohol ads are more likely to drink and drink more heavily than their peers and Much more needs to be done” (The Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth). The problems associated with alcoholism, which the study labels as “serious consequences” includes the death figures associated with drinking an driving, alcohol-related sexual assaults and rape, alcohol-related homicide, suicide and drowning and other diseases such as loss of memory (The Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth). These things have given impetus for the government to totally ban the use of alcohol for children below 21 years. As to what effects does this ban has on kids is the aim of this study. We will be using data and analysis from online sources to answer the question. Our approach in answering the question is leaned on the behavioral science, with a little discussion on sociological and economic aspects. In a study published in 2009, regarding banning alcohol advertisements reveal that “there is strong evidence that restrictions have not reduced consumption and the evidence from jurisdictions that have removed bans shows that consumption has not increased when advertising has resumed” (http://www.spiked-online.com/). Banning advertisements is one way of managing the demand for alcohol, presuming that advertisements increase the use of alcohol. But the study suggests that this policy is not effective. This policy is similar to banning underage to drink alcohol. It is one way of managing the demand for alcohol, but the figures reveal that the intended purpose is not met. The study of the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth specifically produced the following figures: a. More youth in the United States drink alcohol than smoke tobacco or marijuana, making it the drug most used by American young people b. Every day, 5,400 young people under 16 take their first drink of alcohol c. In 2005, one out of six eighth-graders, one in three tenth - graders, and nearly one out of two twelfth - graders were current drinkers d. More than 7 million underage youth, ages 12 to 20, reported binge drinking – having five or more drinks on at least one occasion in the past 30 days – in 2004, according to data released in September 2005. Source: (The Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth) When the government has increased alcohol ban to under 21 the result was good. Numerous studies have demonstrated that raising the minimum drinking age in the United States from 18 to 21 significantly decreased self-reported drinking, fatal traffic crashes, and DUI arrests among young people” (The Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth). This result is pretty remarkable, but when we analyze the effect on this on the behavior of children, the result might be different. A news written in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on May 12, 2003 reveal that the ban on teenagers, under 21 years of age intensifies the act of doing it privately, even in the worst possible places which includes “dark corners of the park, at the one house in the neighborhood where the adults have left for the weekend or, most commonly, in the car” (Reid). Schools admit that even the ban does not stop kids from drinking, even binge drinking (Reid). N. Gregory Mankiw, a famous economist from Harvard University, once mentioned of a principle that “people respond to incentives” (Mankiw). The concept is fairly simple, it just says that people will act according to what they will get from it. The higher the incentive, the higher is the tendency to do it. This can be used to analyze the policy of alcohol ban for kids under 21 years. The ban makes a violators out of teenagers below 21 years who drink. And since alcoholic drinks are readily available, there is not much impetus for them to shy ways from buying them. Their only concern is how to consume it in a manner not known to the government and the olds. Those bans then raise the tendency of the teenagers to hide while drinking, and this places where they hide might not be safe for them. Had the government legalized drinking, kids could have done it under the supervision of their parents and in a safer place. In some countries where alcohol drinking is legalized even police are present to supervise which enables to children to “learn to use alcohol socially and responsibly” because “ they didn’t have to hide it from their parents” (Reid). By simply looking at it, the result might be remarkable as less self-reported drinking fatalities were observed. But it might be the case that since drinking for under 21 years of age is banned, fatalities related to drinking are not reported for the fear of punishment. This effect will be more detrimental to the health of the children. The act of hiding drinking activities from the parents can go as far as health concerns, accidents and others which might be more critical to the life of children. On the economic aspect, we can see it as demand management. The ban is supposed to decrease the demand for alcohol. However, since alcohol is addictive and has been part of the country’s culture, it will be difficult to totally eradicate it from the children’s activities. There will still be demand for alcohol, and suppliers will be forced to increase the price of alcohol since doing something “illegal” entails costs. The higher price of alcohol for kinds might push them to do related crimes such as burglary or dishonesty to parents. These consequences have behavioral aspects which might be carried by kids until they grow up and will make them ignoble citizens. Up to now, “there is no political will to change the national drinking age, or even to hand the issue back to the states. Politicians, after all garner support, and contributions from interest groups, by promising to “stop teen drinking” (Reid). References http://www.spiked-online.com/. 21 July 2009. 21 April 2010 . Mankiw, N. Gregory. Principles of Macroeconomics. 3rd. South-Western College Publishing, 2004. National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse. 21 April 2010 . Reid, T.R. 12 May 2003. 21 April 2010 . The Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth. March 2006. 21 April 2010 . Read More