Do Beer Taxes Affect Birth Rates Among Teens and Young Women in the United States? (thesis)

Abstract

Alcohol abuse and underage drinking in the United States lead to many adverse outcomes, including unintended pregnancy. One way to reduce alcohol abuse – and therefore its negative outcomes – is to raise the price of beer consumers face. Using state-level data, this paper contributes to the literature by providing the first analysis of the effect of beer taxes on birth rates for 15-19 and 20-24 year old women overall, by race, and by race where the father is not reported. Results provide evidence for the hypothesis that increasing the beer tax decreases birth rates among teens and young women in the United States.