Estimating effects of alcohol tax increases on highway fatalities

Details

• Creators:
  Skinner, David
• Corporate Creators:
  John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (U.S.)
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  • Taxes
  • Sales tax
  • Highway safety
  • Fatalities
  • Alcohol effects
• Publication/ Report Number:
  DOT-TSC-HS-070
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States
• Edition:
  Draft; Project memorandum
• Corporate Publisher:
  John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (U.S.)
• Abstract:
  There can be no doubt that tax increases which raise the price of all alcoholic beverages ; will reduce the overall consumption of alcohol which in turn will reduce highway ; accidents and fatalities. Both theoretical reasoning about the effects of tax increases ; and empirical investigations give evidence of a causal relationship between higher ; alcoholic beverage prices and accidents. The issue then becomes one of magnitude: ; How much of a reduction in accidents canbe presently expected for any given amount ; of tax? The question can be approached in two basic ways: reasoning theoretically and ; more directly through empirical studies. ; The theoretical method attempts to reason about the path any tax increase must take ; in ultimately reducing accidents and fatalities. Three links are crucial in this path if a ; strong response is to be expected: (1)the alcohol tax at the supply level must be effective ; in raising the retail price; (2) the tax-induced higher retail price must reduce consumption; (3) the consumption that is reduced must be that which is involved in alcohol-related crashes. Some of the information about these links can be reasoned from ; economic theory and from studies not directed specifically toward highway safety. The ; empirical approach is more direct in trying to establish statistical relationships among ; historical state tax changes and reductions in highway fatalities.
  More +
• Format:
  PDF
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/8618/dot_8618_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.19 MB]
• Collection(s):
  Volpe Center
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:0f57dfdef43ba891903feb68cc6d4481567a394621774cdc4759f1dbec52f0cc52d3e2fb5c330648c1c2c647e024ac8e7ef7e1b904bfc96293995362f81ebc67