The Effects of Retail Price of Alcohol on Aggression

Cook, P.J. & Moore, M.J. (1993) “Violence: Reductions through restrictions on alcohol availability”, Alcohol, Health & Research World 17(2): 151-155.
One strategy for reducing alcohol-related violence is to restrict alcohol availability. Data presented in this article show that per capita alcohol consumption is closely linked to violent crime, and that alcohol taxes influence per capita alcohol consumption. Evidence for a direct link between alcohol tax rates and violent crime rates is provided. The authors argue that the alcohol-violence link is relevant to evaluating alcohol control policies and that policies that can effectively curtail the use or abuse of alcohol among people who may be prone to violence can thereby reduce the incidence of violent crime.

Matthews, K, Shepherd, J and Sivarajasingham, V (2006) “Violence Related Injury and the Price of Beer in England and Wales”, Applied Economics, 38, pp 661- 670.
This paper examines the influence of the real price of beer on violence-related injuries across the economic regions in England and Wales. The data are monthly frequency of violent-injury collected from a stratified sample of 58 National Health Service Emergency Departments 1995-2000. An econometric model based on economic, socio-demographic and environmental factors was estimated using panel techniques. We show that the rate of violence-related injury is negatively related to the real price beer, as well as economic, sporting and socio-demographic factors. The principal conclusion of the paper is that the regional distribution of the incidence of violent injury is related to the regional distribution of the price of beer. The major policy conclusion is that increased alcohol prices would result in substantially fewer violent injuries and reduced demand on trauma services.