Moderate drinkers seem to higher earnings than constant abstainers, & both constant abstainers and former drinkers are less likely to be employed than moderate drinkers; at least for short-run estimations

Adolescent Alcohol Consumption and Labor Market Outcomes. Laura Tikkanen. Jyväskylä University, School of Business and Economics. Master’s Thesis 2019. https://jyx.jyu.fi/bitstream/handle/123456789/64108/URN%3ANBN%3Afi%3Ajyu-201905222710.pdf?sequence=1

Abstract: Misuse of alcohol at young age has been linked to several problems in adult-hood. In this study, it isexamined if alcohol consumption has a negative effect on the earnings and employment of adolescence. Earlier literature shows that risky and heavy alcohol consumption tends to result both in poor labor market outcomes and reduced health.However, the results also indicate that moderate alcohol consumption is oftenassociated with the most favorable labor market outcomes, such as the highest earnings. In this study, data are drawn fromthe Health 2000 -studyconducted by the National Institute for Health and Welfare. The final estimation sample consists of 1171 individuals aged 18-29. These individuals are divided into four categories based on their drinking habits; heavy drinkers, moderate drinkers, former drinkers and constant abstainers. The differences between the categories arecom-pared using OLS-regression method. The results indicate that moderate drinkers seem to higher earnings than constant abstainers. Furthermore, both constant abstainers and former drinkers are less likely to be employed than moderate drinkers. Since the data set covers a period of only one year, the results can only be used for short-run estimations. The participants of the study were also relatively young which makes it difficult to estimate the true impact of alcohol consumption on their earnings and employment later in life. Therefore, the conclusion of the study is that further research on long-term labor market outcomes is needed.

Key Words:alcohol  consumption,  alcohol,  labor  market  outcomes,  earnings,  employment, adolescents, OLSregression