Dn. Figlio, THE EFFECT OF DRINKING AGE LAWS AND ALCOHOL-RELATED CRASHES - TIME-SERIES, EVIDENCE FROM WISCONSIN, Journal of policy analysis and management, 14(4), 1995, pp. 555-566
The imposition of a national 21-year minimum drinking age has sparked
considerable controversy in recent years. Critics have contended that
the perceived ''successes'' of the increased drinking age are actually
due to underlying trends toward fewer alcohol-related crashes among t
eenagers, and would have occurred in the absence of an increased drink
ing age. I use monthly Wisconsin time-series data from 1976 to 1993 to
estimate the effects of increased minimum drinking ages on alcohol-re
lated crashes involving teenagers. I find that raising the drinking ag
e has resulted in substantially lower alcohol-related crash rates invo
lving teenagers. In addition, I find evidence that crashes increased i
n years in which Wisconsin's drinking age was lower than those of its
neighbors, suggesting that ''border hopping'' resulted from interjuris
dictional policy differences.