ALCOHOL REGULATION AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE TOWARDS CHILDREN

In recent years, economists have paid much attention to the demand for alcohol and the negative externalities associated with excessive drin king. Largely ignored in the literature is the link between alcohol us e and domestic violence. Given the established positive relationship b etween alcohol consumption and acts of violence, the purpose of this p aper is to examine the role that changes in the determinants of the de mand for alcohol may play in reducing the incidence of violence aimed at children. Data on violence come from the 1976 Physical Violence in American Families survey. We estimate; a model in which violent outcom es are affected by the state excise tax rate on beer, illegal drug pri ces, and other regulatory variables such as availability measures and laws restricting the advertising of alcohol. Results show that increas ing the tax on beer can be an effective policy tool in reducing violen ce. Laws designed to make obtaining beer more difficult also may be ef fective in reducing violence, while restrictions on advertising and in creases in illegal drug prices have no effects.