Temporal Regulation and Intertemporal Substitution: The Effect of Banning Alcohol at College Football Games

The consumption of alcohol is typically regulated with respect to time & place. One rationale for this is to reduce the level of harmful external effects associated with public intoxication. Economic theory suggests that rational consumers will substitute some drinking activity into other times & locations, shifting the incidence of the externality. An example is a ban on alcohol consumption at college football games, where fans might increase their drinking before & after the game. Support for the substitution hypothesis was found in an examination of arrest records revealing the average level of intoxication of 865 drunk drivers arrested 1975-1987, ie, the years before & after a 1982 ban on consuming alcohol at Arizona State U football games. Ordinary least squares regression of blood alcohol concentration on various economic, legal, & sociological controls indicates that intoxication increased after the ban. 3 Tables, 1 Figure, 9 References. Modified AA