Does the Minimum Legal Drinking Age Save Lives?
38 Pages Posted: 13 Jul 2007 Last revised: 23 Sep 2022
Date Written: July 2007
Abstract
The minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) is widely believed to save lives by reducing traffic fatalities among underage drivers. Further, the Federal Uniform Drinking Age Act, which pressured all states to adopt an MLDA of 21, is regarded as having contributed enormously to this life saving effect. This paper challenges both claims. State-level panel data for the past 30 years show that any nationwide impact of the MLDA is driven by states that increased their MLDA prior to any inducement from the federal government. Even in early adopting states, the impact of the MLDA did not persist much past the year of adoption. The MLDA appears to have only a minor impact on teen drinking.
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?
Recommended Papers
-
Minimum Drinking Age Laws and Infant Health Outcomes
By Tara Watson and Angela R. Fertig
-
Does Drinking Impair College Performance? Evidence from a Regression Discontinuity Approach
By Scott E. Carrell, Mark Hoekstra, ...
-
Does Drinking Impair College Performance? Evidence from a Regression Discontinuity Approach
By Scott E. Carrell, Mark Hoekstra, ...
-
Long Term Effects of Minimum Legal Drinking Age Laws on Adult Alcohol Use and Driving Fatalities
By Robert Kaestner and Ben Yarnoff
-
Understanding the Decline in Drinking and Driving During 'The Other Great Moderation'