Alcohol in the Family: How an Anti-alcohol Campaign Transformed Marriage and Childbearing

65 Pages Posted: 2 Feb 2024

See all articles by Elizabeth Brainerd

Elizabeth Brainerd

Brandeis University - Department of Economics; IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Olga Malkova

University of California, Irvine - Department of Economics

Date Written: October 15, 2023

Abstract

Do societal reductions in alcohol consumption affect family wellbeing? We analyze the effects of a major anti-alcohol campaign in the Soviet Union on health and family outcomes in the Russian republic. We exploit the differences in precampaign alcohol related mortality across Russia’s regions to identify its causal effects. The 1985-1990 campaign reduced alcohol consumption by approximately 25 percent and led to large reductions in alcohol-related deaths for men and women in urban and rural areas. We find a substantial decline in infant mortality among boys and girls, an increase in both entry into marriage and the probability of divorce, as well as a rise in both first and higher parity fertility rates.

Note:

Funding Information: I have received no funding to conduct this research.

Conflict of Interests: I do not have any competing interests to report.

Keywords: alcohol policy, mortality, fertility, marital stability

Suggested Citation

Brainerd, Elizabeth and Malkova, Olga, Alcohol in the Family: How an Anti-alcohol Campaign Transformed Marriage and Childbearing (October 15, 2023). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4602993

Elizabeth Brainerd

Brandeis University - Department of Economics ( email )

Waltham, MA 02454-9110
United States

IZA Institute of Labor Economics

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

Olga Malkova (Contact Author)

University of California, Irvine - Department of Economics ( email )

3151 Social Science Plaza
Irvine, CA 92697-5100
United States

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