Citation

Carpenter CS, Eisenberg D. J. Stud. Alcohol Drugs 2009; 70(1): 126-133.

Affiliation

Department of Economics/Public Policy, The Paul Merage School of Business, 428 SB, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California 92697-3125.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2009, Alcohol Research Documentation, Inc., Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

19118401

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to estimate the effect of Sunday alcohol-sales policies on day-specifi c and overall alcohol consumption. Method: Individual-level data on overall and day-specific alcohol consumption from Canada's National Population Health Surveys, 1994-1999, were linked to province-level policy variation in whether a Sunday sales restriction was present. We compared individuals in provinces with sales restrictions with those in provinces without such restrictions, and we estimated models of day-specifi c and overall alcohol consumption. We used a standard cross-section model as well as a quasi-experimental approach that relied on Ontario's liberalization of Sunday sales in 1997. Results: Sunday sales were associated with a signifi cant increase in drinking on Sundays of 7% to 15%. We found evidence of substitution away from drinking on Saturdays and no evidence for increases in overall drinking. Conclusions: Our results suggest that repealing Sunday sales prohibitions is unlikely to result in increased overall alcohol consumption, although such liberalizations may change the within-week distribution.

Language: en