Search Results

Author: Dave, Dhaval
Resulting in 14 citations.
1. Colman, Gregory J.
Dave, Dhaval
Unemployment and Health Behaviors over the Business Cycle: A Longitudinal View
NBER Working Paper No. 20748, National Bureau of Economic Research, December 2014.
Also: http://www.nber.org/papers/w20748.pdf
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
Keyword(s): Body Mass Index (BMI); Exercise; Health/Health Status/SF-12 Scale; Nutritional Status/Nutrition/Consumption Behaviors; Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID); Physical Activity (see also Exercise); Smoking (see Cigarette Use); Unemployment

We examine the first-order internal effects of unemployment on a range of health behaviors during the most recent recession using longitudinal data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) and the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (NLSY79). Consistent with prior studies based on cross-sectional data, we find that becoming unemployed is associated with a small increase in leisure-time exercise and in body weight, a moderate decrease in smoking, and a substantial decline in total physical activity. We also find that unemployment is associated with a decline in purchases of fast food. Together, these results imply that both energy consumption and expenditure decline in the U.S. during recessions, the net result being a slight increase in body weight. There is generally considerable heterogeneity in these effects across specific health behaviors, across the intensive and extensive margins, across the outcome distribution, and across gender.
Bibliography Citation
Colman, Gregory J. and Dhaval Dave. "Unemployment and Health Behaviors over the Business Cycle: A Longitudinal View." NBER Working Paper No. 20748, National Bureau of Economic Research, December 2014.
2. Colman, Gregory J.
Dave, Dhaval
Unemployment and Health Behaviors over the Business Cycle: A Longitudinal View
Southern Economic Journal 85,1 (July 2018): 93-120.
Also: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/soej.12283
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Wiley Online
Keyword(s): Body Mass Index (BMI); Economic Changes/Recession; Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID); Physical Activity (see also Exercise); Smoking (see Cigarette Use); Unemployment

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

We examine the first‐order internal effects of unemployment and nonemployment on a range of health behaviors during the most recent recession using longitudinal data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics and the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth‐1979. Ours is the first study to analyze the effect of own‐unemployment on energy intake, energy expenditure, and the net effect (body mass index) using longitudinal records. Exploiting information enveloping the recent steep recession and prolonged recovery is valuable since recent job losers will modify their behavior little if they expect soon to be re‐employed, whereas if they expect joblessness to last, they will adjust to a possibly prolonged decline in income and increase in nonwork time. We find that becoming unemployed is associated with a small increase in leisure‐time exercise, a moderate decrease in smoking, and a substantial decline in total physical activity. We also find that unemployment and nonemployment are associated with a decline in purchases of fast food. Together, these results imply that both energy consumption and expenditure may decline in the United States during recessions, the net result being essentially no change in body weight. There is considerable heterogeneity in these effects across specific health behaviors, across the intensive and extensive margins, across the outcome distribution, and across gender.
Bibliography Citation
Colman, Gregory J. and Dhaval Dave. "Unemployment and Health Behaviors over the Business Cycle: A Longitudinal View." Southern Economic Journal 85,1 (July 2018): 93-120.
3. Dave, Dhaval
Corman, Hope
Kalil, Ariel
Schwartz-Soicher, Ofira
Reichman, Nancy
Effects of Maternal Work Incentives on Adolescent Behaviors
Presented: Austin TX, Population Association of America Annual Meeting, April 2019
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Population Association of America
Keyword(s): Adolescent Behavior; Delinquency/Gang Activity; Extracurricular Activities/Sports; Geocoded Data; Maternal Employment; Monitoring the Future (MTF); State-Level Data/Policy; Substance Use; Volunteer Work; Welfare

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Robert Moffitt’s 2014 PAA address highlighted the need for studies of effects on children of the substantial (and un-reversed) reduction of the cash assistance safety net that took place in the 1990s. This study investigates the effects of welfare reform, which dramatically limited cash assistance for low-income families, on adolescent behaviors that are important for socioeconomic trajectories and represent observable outcomes of the reforms for the next generation as they transition to adulthood. Using two nationally-representative datasets, we exploit differences in welfare reform implementation across states and over time in a difference-in-differences framework to identify causal effects of welfare reform on a range of social behaviors (volunteering, clubs/teams/activities; delinquency, substance use). We investigate differential effects by gender and age and explore maternal employment and supervision as potential mediators. Preliminary results suggest that welfare reform had largely unfavorable effects on adolescent behaviors and do not support longstanding culture of poverty arguments.
Bibliography Citation
Dave, Dhaval, Hope Corman, Ariel Kalil, Ofira Schwartz-Soicher and Nancy Reichman. "Effects of Maternal Work Incentives on Adolescent Behaviors." Presented: Austin TX, Population Association of America Annual Meeting, April 2019.
4. Dave, Dhaval
Corman, Hope
Kalil, Ariel
Schwartz-Soicher, Ofira
Reichman, Nancy
Effects of Maternal Work Incentives on Adolescent Social Behaviors
NBER Working Paper No. 25527, National Bureau of Economic Research, February 2019.
Also: https://www.nber.org/papers/w25527
Cohort(s): NLSY79, NLSY79 Young Adult
Publisher: National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
Keyword(s): Adolescent Behavior; Delinquency/Gang Activity; Geocoded Data; Intergenerational Patterns/Transmission; Maternal Employment; State-Level Data/Policy; Substance Use; Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF); Welfare

This study exploits variations in the timing of welfare reform implementation in the U.S. in the 1990s to identify plausibly causal effects of welfare reform on a range of social behaviors of the next generation as they transition to adulthood. We focus on behaviors that are important for socioeconomic and health trajectories, estimate effects by gender, and explore potentially mediating factors. Welfare reform had no favorable effects on any of the youth behaviors examined and led to decreased volunteering among girls, increases in skipping school, damaging property, and fighting among boys, and increases in smoking and drug use among both boys and girls, with larger effects for boys (e.g., -6% for boys compared to 4% for girls for any substance use). Maternal employment, supervision, and child's employment explain little of the effects. Overall, the intergenerational effects of welfare reform on adolescent behaviors were unfavorable, particularly for boys, and do not support longstanding arguments that limiting cash assistance leads to responsible behavior in the next generation. As such, the favorable effects of welfare reform for women may have come at a cost to the next generation, particularly to boys who have been falling behind girls in high school completion for decades.
Bibliography Citation
Dave, Dhaval, Hope Corman, Ariel Kalil, Ofira Schwartz-Soicher and Nancy Reichman. "Effects of Maternal Work Incentives on Adolescent Social Behaviors." NBER Working Paper No. 25527, National Bureau of Economic Research, February 2019.
5. Dave, Dhaval
Tennant, Jennifer
Colman, Gregory J.
Isolating the Effect of Major Depression on Obesity: Role of Selection Bias
Working Paper No. 17068. National Bureau of Economic Research, May 2011.
Also: http://www.nber.org/papers/w17068
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
Keyword(s): Body Mass Index (BMI); CESD (Depression Scale); Depression (see also CESD); Health Factors; Health, Mental/Psychological; Obesity; Weight

There is suggestive evidence that rates of major depression have risen markedly in the U.S. concurrent with the rise in obesity. The economic burden of depression, about $100 billion annually, is under-estimated if depression has a positive causal impact on obesity. If depression plays a causal role in increasing the prevalence of obesity, then policy interventions aimed at promoting mental health may also have the indirect benefits of promoting a healthy bodyweight. However, virtually the entire existing literature on the connection between the two conditions has examined merely whether they are significantly correlated, sometimes holding constant a limited set of demographic factors. This study utilizes multiple large-scale nationally-representative datasets to assess whether, and the extent to which, the positive association reflects a causal link from major depression to higher BMI and obesity. While contemporaneous effects are considered, the study primarily focuses on the effects of past and lifetime depression to bypass reverse causality and further assess the role of non-random selection on unobservable factors. There are expectedly no significant or substantial effects of current depression on BMI or overweight/obesity, given that BMI is a stock measure that changes relatively slowly over time. Results are also not supportive of a causal interpretation among males. However, among females, estimates indicate that past or lifetime diagnosis of major depression raises the probability of being overweight or obese by about seven percentage points. Results also suggest that this effect appears to plausibly operate through shifts in food consumption and physical activity. We estimate that this higher risk of overweight and obesity among females could potentially add about 10% (or $9.7 billion) to the estimated economic burden of depression.
Bibliography Citation
Dave, Dhaval, Jennifer Tennant and Gregory J. Colman. "Isolating the Effect of Major Depression on Obesity: Role of Selection Bias." Working Paper No. 17068. National Bureau of Economic Research, May 2011.
6. Dave, Dhaval
Tennant, Jennifer
Colman, Gregory J.
Isolating the Effect of Major Depression on Obesity: Role of Selection Bias
Journal of Mental Health Policy and Economics 14,4 (2011): 165-186.
Also: http://www.icmpe.org/test1/journal/journal.htm
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Wiley Online
Keyword(s): Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS); Body Mass Index (BMI); Depression (see also CESD); Obesity

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Background: There is suggestive evidence that rates of major depression have risen markedly in the U.S. concurrent with the rise in obesity. The economic burden of depression, about $100 billion annually, is under-estimated if depression has a positive causal impact on obesity. However, virtually the entire existing literature on the connection between the two conditions has examined merely whether they are significantly correlated, sometimes holding constant a limited set of demographic factors.

Aims of the Study: This study assesses whether, and the extent to which, the positive association between the two conditions reflects a causal link from major depression to higher BMI and obesity.

Methods: Individual-level data from three nationally-representative studies are utilized: (i) National Comorbidity Survey-Replication (N=3,229); (ii) National Longitudinal Survey of Youth-1979 (N=21,365); and (iii) Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (N=2,858,973). Dependent variables include body mass index (BMI) and a dichotomous indicator for overweight or obese. We measure diagnosed major depression based on DSM-IV criteria and the CES Depression scale. While contemporaneous effects are considered, the study primarily focuses on the effects of past and lifetime depression to bypass reverse causality and further assess the role of non-random selection on unobservable factors. The effects of past and lifetime depression on obesity are estimated based on: (i) models that control for an extensive set of typically-unobserved factors, including parental history, family background, parental investments, risk-taking, and use of anti-depressants and other prescription medications; (ii) constrained selection models; and (iii) models controlling for family fixed effects.

Results: There are expectedly no significant or substantial effects of current depression on BMI or overweight/obesity, given that BMI is a stock that changes relatively slowly over time. Results also do not support a causal interpretation among males. However, among females, estimates indicate that past or lifetime diagnosis of major depression raises the probability of being overweight or obese by about seven percentage points. Results also suggest that this effect appears to plausibly operate through shifts in food consumption and physical activity.

Bibliography Citation
Dave, Dhaval, Jennifer Tennant and Gregory J. Colman. "Isolating the Effect of Major Depression on Obesity: Role of Selection Bias." Journal of Mental Health Policy and Economics 14,4 (2011): 165-186.
7. Kalil, Ariel
Corman, Hope
Dave, Dhaval
Schwartz-Soicher, Ofira
Reichman, Nancy
Welfare Reform and the Quality of Young Children's Home Environments
NBER Working Paper No. 30407, National Bureau of Economic Research, August 2022.
Also: https://www.nber.org/papers/w30407
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLSY79
Publisher: National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
Keyword(s): Child Development; Children, Home Environment; Geocoded Data; Home Observation for Measurement of Environment (HOME); Human Capital; State-Level Data/Policy; Welfare

This study investigates effects of welfare reform in the U.S., a major policy shift that increased employment of low-income mothers and reliance on their own earnings instead of cash assistance through the welfare system, on the quality of the home environments they provide for their preschool-age children. Using empirical methods designed to identify plausibly causal effects, we estimate effects of welfare reform on validated survey and observational measures of maternal behaviors that support children's cognitive skills and emotional adjustment and material goods that parents purchase to stimulate their children's skill development. The results suggest that welfare reform did not affect the amount of time and material resources mothers devoted to cognitively stimulating activities with their young children but was significantly associated with approximately 0.3-0.4 standard deviation lower scores on provision of emotional support, with stronger effects for mothers with low human capital. The findings provide evidence that maternal work incentives as implemented by welfare reform came at a cost to children in the form of lower quality parenting and underscore the importance of considering quality, and not just quantity, in assessing the effects of maternal work incentive policies on parenting and children's home environments.
Bibliography Citation
Kalil, Ariel, Hope Corman, Dhaval Dave, Ofira Schwartz-Soicher and Nancy Reichman. "Welfare Reform and the Quality of Young Children's Home Environments." NBER Working Paper No. 30407, National Bureau of Economic Research, August 2022.
8. Reichman, Nancy
Corman, Hope
Dave, Dhaval
Kalil, Ariel
Schwartz-Soicher, Ofira
Effects of Welfare Reform on Parenting
NBER Working Paper No. 28077, National Bureau of Economic Research, November 2020.
Also: https://www.nber.org/papers/w28077
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLSY79
Publisher: National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
Keyword(s): Geocoded Data; Parent Supervision/Monitoring; Parent-Child Interaction; Parent-Child Relationship/Closeness; State-Level Data/Policy; Welfare

This study investigated the effects of welfare reform in the 1990s, which represented a major policy shift that substantially and permanently retracted cash assistance to poor mothers in the U.S., on parenting. Using data on women from the 1979 cohort of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth linked with information on their 10- to 14-year-old children from the Child Self-Administered and Self-Report surveys, we exploited variation in the implementation of welfare reform across states, over time, and across treatment and comparison groups to estimate the effects of welfare reform on parent-child activities and closeness of the mother-child relationship. We found that welfare reform had adverse effects on engagement in parent-child activities, children feeling close to their mothers, and mothers knowing their children's whereabouts, with the effects generally concentrated among boys. These findings have implications for children's development and contribute to a virtually non-existent literature on the effects of welfare reform on parenting and the small but growing economic literature on parenting. We found no evidence that the effects of welfare reform on parenting operated through the mother working more than full time, having multiple jobs, working in a service job, or having a non-standard work schedule.
Bibliography Citation
Reichman, Nancy, Hope Corman, Dhaval Dave, Ariel Kalil and Ofira Schwartz-Soicher. "Effects of Welfare Reform on Parenting." NBER Working Paper No. 28077, National Bureau of Economic Research, November 2020.
9. Sabia, Joseph J.
Mackay, Taylor
Nguyen, Thanh Tam
Dave, Dhaval
Do Ban the Box Laws Increase Crime?
NBER Working Paper No. 24381, National Bureau of Economic Research, March 2018.
Also: http://www.nber.org/papers/w24381
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
Keyword(s): Arrests; Crime; Criminal Justice System; Discrimination; Geocoded Data; State-Level Data/Policy

Ban-the-box (BTB) laws, which prevent employers from asking prospective employees about their criminal histories at initial job screenings, have been adopted by 25 states and the District of Columbia. Using data from the National Incident-Based Reporting System, the Uniform Crime Reports, and the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997, this study is the first to estimate the effect of BTB laws on crime. We find some evidence that BTB laws are associated with an increase in property crime among working-age Hispanic men. This finding is consistent with employer-based statistical discrimination as well as potential moral hazard. A causal interpretation of our results is supported by placebo tests on policy leads and a lack of BTB-induced increases in crime for non-Hispanic whites and women. Finally, we find that BTB laws are associated with a reduction in property crime among older and white individuals, consistent with labor-labor substitution toward those with perceived lower probabilities of having criminal records (Doleac and Hansen 2017). [Also presented at Austin TX, Population Association of America Annual Meeting, April 2019]
Bibliography Citation
Sabia, Joseph J., Taylor Mackay, Thanh Tam Nguyen and Dhaval Dave. "Do Ban the Box Laws Increase Crime?" NBER Working Paper No. 24381, National Bureau of Economic Research, March 2018.
10. Sabia, Joseph J.
Nguyen, Thanh Tam
Mackay, Taylor
Dave, Dhaval
The Unintended Effects of Ban-the-Box Laws on Crime
Journal of Law and Economics 64,4 (November 2021): DOI: 10.1086/715187.
Also: https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/715187
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Keyword(s): Arrests; Crime; Discrimination; Geocoded Data; State-Level Data/Policy

Ban-the-box (BTB) laws, which prevent employers from asking prospective employees about their criminal histories at initial job screenings, are intended to increase employment opportunities and reduce incentives for crime. This study is the first to comprehensively explore the relationship between BTB laws and arrests. Using data from the National Incident-Based Reporting System, we find that BTB laws are associated with a 16 percent increase in criminal incidents involving Hispanic male arrestees. This finding is supported by parallel analysis using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 and is consistent with BTB-law-induced job loss due to employer-based statistical discrimination. We find less evidence that BTB laws increase property crime among African American men. Supplemental analyses from the American Community Survey suggest that barriers to welfare participation among Hispanic men may partially explain this result. Our estimates suggest that BTB laws generate approximately $350 million in additional annual crime costs.
Bibliography Citation
Sabia, Joseph J., Thanh Tam Nguyen, Taylor Mackay and Dhaval Dave. "The Unintended Effects of Ban-the-Box Laws on Crime." Journal of Law and Economics 64,4 (November 2021): DOI: 10.1086/715187.
11. Saffer, Henry
Dave, Dhaval
Alcohol Advertising and Alcohol Consumption By Adolescents
NBER Working Paper No. 9676, National Bureau of Economic Research, May 2003.
Also: http://www.nber.org/papers/w9676.pdf
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
Keyword(s): Adolescent Behavior; Alcohol Use; Data Linkage (also see Record Linkage); Gender Differences; Market Level Data; Modeling, Fixed Effects; Monitoring the Future (MTF); Racial Differences

The purpose of this paper is to empirically estimate the effects of alcohol advertising on adolescent alcohol consumption. The theory of brand capital is used to explain the effects of advertising on consumption. The industry response function and the evidence from prior studies indicate that the empirical strategy should maximize the variance in the advertising data. The approach in this paper to maximizing the variance in advertising data is to employ cross sectional data. The Monitoring the Future (MTF) and the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (NLSY97) data sets, which include only data for adolescents, are employed for the empirical work. These data sets are augmented with alcohol advertising data, originating on the market level, for five media. Use of both the MTF and the NLSY97 data sets improves the empirical analysis since each data set has its own unique advantages. The large size of the MTF makes it possible to estimate regressions with race and gender specific subsamples. The panel nature of the NLSY97 makes it possible to estimate individual fixed effects models. In addition, very similar models can be estimated with both data sets. Since the data sets are independent, the basically consistent findings increase the confidence in all the results. The results indicate that blacks participate in alcohol less than whites and their participation cannot be explained with the included variable as well as it can for whites. A comparison of male and female regressions shows that price and advertising effects are generally larger for females. Models which control for individual heterogeneity result in larger advertising effects implying that the MTF results may understate the effect of alcohol advertising. The results based on the NLSY97 suggest that a complete ban on all alcohol advertising could reduce adolescent monthly alcohol participation by about 24 percent and binge participation by about 42 percent. The past month price-participat ion elasticity was estimated at about -0.28 and the price-binge participation elasticity was estimated at about -0.51. Both advertising and price policies are shown to have the potential to substantially reduce adolescent alcohol consumption.
Bibliography Citation
Saffer, Henry and Dhaval Dave. "Alcohol Advertising and Alcohol Consumption By Adolescents." NBER Working Paper No. 9676, National Bureau of Economic Research, May 2003.
12. Saffer, Henry
Dave, Dhaval
Alcohol Advertising and Alcohol Consumption by Adolescents
Health Economics 15,6 (June 2006): 617-637.
Also: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/hec.1091/abstract
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: Wiley Online
Keyword(s): Alcohol Use; Data Linkage (also see Record Linkage); Gender; Heterogeneity; Market Level Data; Monitoring the Future (MTF); Racial Studies; Television Viewing

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

This study investigates the effects of alcohol advertising on adolescent alcohol consumption. The theory of an industry response function and evidence from prior studies indicate the importance of maximizing the variance in advertising measures. Monitoring the Future (MTF) and National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (NLSY97) data are augmented with alcohol advertising, originating on the market level, for five media. The large sample of the MTF allows estimation of race and gender-specific models. The longitudinal nature of the NLSY97 allows controls for unobserved heterogeneity with state-level and individual fixed effects. Price and advertising effects are generally larger for females relative to males. Controls for individual heterogeneity yield larger advertising effects, implying that the MTF results may understate the effects of alcohol advertising. Results from the NLSY97 suggest that a 28% reduction in alcohol advertising would reduce adolescent monthly alcohol participation from 25% to between 24 and 21%. For binge participation, the reduction would be from 12% to between 11 and 8%. The past month price-participation elasticity is estimated at -0.26, consistent with prior studies. The results show that reduction of alcohol advertising can produce a modest decline in adolescent alcohol consumption, though effects may vary by race and gender. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Bibliography Citation
Saffer, Henry and Dhaval Dave. "Alcohol Advertising and Alcohol Consumption by Adolescents." Health Economics 15,6 (June 2006): 617-637.
13. Saffer, Henry
Dave, Dhaval
Grossman, Michael
A Behavioral Economic Model of Alcohol Advertising and Price
Health Economics 25,7 (July 2016): 816-828.
Also: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/hec.3186/abstract
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: Wiley Online
Keyword(s): Alcohol Use; Self-Control/Self-Regulation

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

This paper presents a new empirical study of the effects of televised alcohol advertising and alcohol price on alcohol consumption. A novel feature of this study is that the empirical work is guided by insights from behavioral economic theory. Unlike the theory used in most prior studies, this theory predicts that restriction on alcohol advertising on TV would be more effective in reducing consumption for individuals with high consumption levels but less effective for individuals with low consumption levels. The estimation work employs data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, and the empirical model is estimated with quantile regressions. The results show that advertising has a small positive effect on consumption and that this effect is relatively larger at high consumption levels. The continuing importance of alcohol taxes is also supported. Education is employed as a proxy for self-regulation, and the results are consistent with this assumption. The key conclusion is that restrictions on alcohol advertising on TV would have a small negative effect on drinking, and this effect would be larger for heavy drinkers. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Bibliography Citation
Saffer, Henry, Dhaval Dave and Michael Grossman. "A Behavioral Economic Model of Alcohol Advertising and Price." Health Economics 25,7 (July 2016): 816-828.
14. Saffer, Henry
Dave, Dhaval
Grossman, Michael
Behavioral Economics and the Demand for Alcohol: Results from the NLSY97
NBER Working Paper No. 18180, National Bureau of Economic Research, June 2012.
Also: http://www.nber.org/papers/w18180
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
Keyword(s): Adolescent Behavior; Alcohol Use; Behavior; Data Linkage (also see Record Linkage); Education; Market Level Data; Modeling; Modeling, Latent Class Analysis/Latent Transition Analysis; Television Viewing

The behavioral economic model presented in this paper argues that the effect of advertising and price differ by past consumption levels. The model predicts that advertising is more effective in reducing consumption at high past consumption levels but less effective at low past consumption levels. Conversely, the model predicts that higher prices are effective in reducing consumption at low past consumption levels but less effective at high past consumption levels. Unlike the models used in most prior studies, this model predicts that the effects of policy on average consumption and on the upper end of the distribution are different.

Both FMM and Quantile models were estimated. The results from these regressions show that heavy drinkers are more responsive to advertising and less responsive to price than are moderate drinkers. The empirical evidence also supports the assumption that education is a proxy for self-regulation. The key conclusions are that restrictions on advertising are targeted at heavy drinkers and are an underutilized alcohol control policy. Higher excise taxes on alcohol reduce consumption by moderate drinkers and are of less importance in reducing heavy consumption.

Bibliography Citation
Saffer, Henry, Dhaval Dave and Michael Grossman. "Behavioral Economics and the Demand for Alcohol: Results from the NLSY97." NBER Working Paper No. 18180, National Bureau of Economic Research, June 2012.