Long-Term Effects of Minimum Drinking Age Laws on Organ Failure (Job Market Paper, with Minh Nguyen)
Abstract:
We study the effect of lowering and increasing the minimum legal drinking age in the 1970s and 1980s on the demand for organ transplants later in life. The hypothesis is that exposure to alcohol at ages 18-20 might permanently change preferences toward alcohol either through biological or social mechanisms. To answer this question we use event study methodology which compares organ waitlist registrations for birth cohorts who were allowed to drink before age 21 with birth cohorts who were not allowed to drink before age 21. We find that an increase in the drinking age in the 1980s resulted in a gradual decrease in demand for organs by about 9% in 2010-2020. On the other hand, a decrease in drinking age in the 1970s resulted in a gradual increase in demand for organs of about 19% during 2000-2010. This difference in effects is driven mostly by liver and heart, while kidney and other organs had similar magnitudes of changes for the decrease and increase in drinking age. Our analysis signifies the importance of taking into account the long-term consequences of policies related to youth since such policies could affect their entire lives and could be difficult to revert.
Are There Incentives to Improve Search Engines in the Age of Information Overload?
Cultural Affinity, Corruption, and International Mergers and Acquisitions (with Stephen Ferris)