EFFECTS OF POLICY ON ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION : A study on European Countries

Sammanfattning: The WHO has reported that alcohol consumption worldwide has been increasing over the years and, as such, different rationales have emerged in dealing with the problem, whether that be using the market solution or a more government-controlled model. Europe hosts a diverse plethora of nations with differing policy rates. As such, this paper studies 28 different EU and EU-affiliated countries throughout the years 2008-2018, with the main focus being on alcohol consumption per capita and policy ratings. Through a random effects model the study found that, on average, nations with strict policies enjoy lower consumption values. However, nations with medium policies had the highest consumption rates in the dataset, no matter their geographical and cultural alignment.