Abstract
Moderate alcohol users (approximately two drinks per day on average) have recently been shown to have a lower risk of coronary heart disease relative to abstainers and heavy drinkers. Conversely, a few studies have found that alcoholism is associated with greater unemployment and lower earnings. But, little research has examined the differential effects of drinking levels on job compensation. We utilize a newly created database on employees at four worksites to test for a nonlinear relationship between alcohol use and wages. We also examine whether alcohol use affects wages indirectly through educational achievement, marital status, and poor health. Our findings suggest an inverse U-shaped relationship between alcohol consumption and wages with a peak at approximately 1.5 to 2.5 drinks per day on average. Thus, controlling for other variables and conditional on working, moderate alcohol users have higher wages than abstainers and heavy drinkers at these worksites. We also find evidence that alcohol use is related to wages through human capital variables.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 319-344 |
| Number of pages | 26 |
| Journal | Journal of Health Economics |
| Volume | 14 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 1995 |
| Externally published | Yes |
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Keywords
- Alcohol use
- Alcoholism
- Wages
- Workplace
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Health Policy
- Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
- Economics and Econometrics
Cite this
Is moderate alcohol use related to wages? Evidence from four worksites. / French, Michael; Zarkin, Gary A.
In: Journal of Health Economics, Vol. 14, No. 3, 1995, p. 319-344.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Is moderate alcohol use related to wages? Evidence from four worksites
AU - French, Michael
AU - Zarkin, Gary A.
PY - 1995
Y1 - 1995
N2 - Moderate alcohol users (approximately two drinks per day on average) have recently been shown to have a lower risk of coronary heart disease relative to abstainers and heavy drinkers. Conversely, a few studies have found that alcoholism is associated with greater unemployment and lower earnings. But, little research has examined the differential effects of drinking levels on job compensation. We utilize a newly created database on employees at four worksites to test for a nonlinear relationship between alcohol use and wages. We also examine whether alcohol use affects wages indirectly through educational achievement, marital status, and poor health. Our findings suggest an inverse U-shaped relationship between alcohol consumption and wages with a peak at approximately 1.5 to 2.5 drinks per day on average. Thus, controlling for other variables and conditional on working, moderate alcohol users have higher wages than abstainers and heavy drinkers at these worksites. We also find evidence that alcohol use is related to wages through human capital variables.
AB - Moderate alcohol users (approximately two drinks per day on average) have recently been shown to have a lower risk of coronary heart disease relative to abstainers and heavy drinkers. Conversely, a few studies have found that alcoholism is associated with greater unemployment and lower earnings. But, little research has examined the differential effects of drinking levels on job compensation. We utilize a newly created database on employees at four worksites to test for a nonlinear relationship between alcohol use and wages. We also examine whether alcohol use affects wages indirectly through educational achievement, marital status, and poor health. Our findings suggest an inverse U-shaped relationship between alcohol consumption and wages with a peak at approximately 1.5 to 2.5 drinks per day on average. Thus, controlling for other variables and conditional on working, moderate alcohol users have higher wages than abstainers and heavy drinkers at these worksites. We also find evidence that alcohol use is related to wages through human capital variables.
KW - Alcohol use
KW - Alcoholism
KW - Wages
KW - Workplace
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0029130013&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=0029130013&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/0167-6296(95)90921-R
DO - 10.1016/0167-6296(95)90921-R
M3 - Article
C2 - 10145138
AN - SCOPUS:0029130013
VL - 14
SP - 319
EP - 344
JO - Journal of Health Economics
JF - Journal of Health Economics
SN - 0167-6296
IS - 3
ER -