10 Solutions to Binge Drinking

Last week David Cameron called binge drinking a “scandal” and referred to the negative externalities that are incurred by 3rd parties - in this case the NHS, to the tune of £2.7bn a year. He pledged to introduce drunk tanks whilst there are plans for a minimum price for alcohol.

The BBC website today has an excellent article that would be an excellent starting point for a discussion on the ways that the government might intervene to correct the market failure arising from the negative externalities associated with binge drinking. The 10 ‘radical solutions’ mentioned in the article are:

1. Subtly make drinks weaker
2. Enforce a minimum price for alcohol
3. Get people back into pubs
4. Raise the legal drinking age
5. Nationalise off-licenses
6. Discourage rounds
7. Ban alcohol marketing
8. Target middle class professionals
9. Not in front of the children
10. Stop exaggerating the problem

This would be an excellent opportunity for students to apply these ideas to the problem of binge drinking and practice their analytical and evaluation skills. Whilst reading the supporting paragraphs in the article for each suggestion you may wish to consider the following:

a) Using economic terminology and diagram analysis, how would each of these options reduce the market failure associated with binge drinking. How might each option affect private costs and the amount of quantity demand / quantity supplied of alcohol?

b) How effective would each option be? Can you spot any problems with each method? Would each option achieve the desired outcome?

A good way to approach the evaluation of each option might consider the WEESTEPS approach to evaluation highlighted in Jim’s blog

BMW - Bavarian Monopolist at Work [24 May 2012]
Unit 1 Micro: Revision Presentation on Government Intervention [16 May 2012]
Unit 1 Micro: Revision Presentation on Externalities [16 May 2012]
AS / A2 Economics Revision Clinic - Market Failure (Monday 14 May 2012) [14 May 2012]
Unit 1 Micro: De-Merit Goods [12 May 2012]
Unit 1 Micro: Revision Blogs on Markets and Intervention [10 May 2012]
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Unit 1 Micro: Using the Cost-Benefit Principle [30 Apr 2012]
Unit 3 Micro: Revision on Nationalisation [13 Apr 2012]
Alcohol - negative externalities of consumption and production. [12 Apr 2012]
Government Intervention in the Energy Market [11 Apr 2012]
Football Clubs to Pay for Negative Externalities [11 Apr 2012]
Unit 1 Micro: Market Failure in Private Health Care [8 Apr 2012]
Neonicotinoids - resulting in the most significant negative externality of production ever? [3 Apr 2012]
Unit 1 Micro: Insider Information and Market Failure [3 Apr 2012]
The minimum alcohol price debate [23 Mar 2012]
Where does my money go? [20 Mar 2012]
The Lorax and market failure. [2 Mar 2012]
Unit 1 Micro: Ten Approaches to Curbing Binge Drinking [22 Feb 2012]
Petrol, tax, and the downward sloping demand curve. [17 Jan 2012]
Unit1 Micro: Processed Meat and Cancer Risk - Information Failure? [17 Jan 2012]
Unit 3 Micro: Samsung and LG fined for price fixing [13 Jan 2012]
Unit 3 Micro: Prezi on Environmental Economics [11 Jan 2012]
Unit 1 Micro: Revision MC Questions on Negative Externalities [8 Jan 2012]
Unit 1 Micro: Prezi on the Economics of Negative Externalities [2 Jan 2012]
Unit 1 Micro: Video Clips on Negative Production Externalities [29 Dec 2011]
Prezi on Information Failures [20 Dec 2011]
Keeping it local [24 Nov 2011]
Ten Things About Tax [23 Nov 2011]
Alcohol. Discuss! [18 Oct 2011]
So many economic concepts in one article - Indian tomato production. [11 Oct 2011]
Fat tax: Denmark [5 Oct 2011]
Fuel for Thought [5 Oct 2011]
Unit 1 Micro: Coast Guard Protection and Moral Hazard [29 Sep 2011]
Unit 1 Micro: Drink Driving and Government Intervention [26 Sep 2011]
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50% tax rates - Chuck it George [7 Sep 2011]
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AS Micro: Revision on Government Failure [1 May 2011]
AS Micro: Fast Food, Fat Profits - Obesity in the USA [1 May 2011]
AS and A2 Macro Revision: Keynesian Economics [28 Apr 2011]
AS Micro: Mock Exam Question on Sugar Prices [28 Apr 2011]
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Information Failures: Broadband Market [2 Mar 2011]
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Pull the other one…... [13 Nov 2010]
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Raising money from taxation - a BBC guide [31 Aug 2010]
BT broadband advert banned [25 Aug 2010]
Healthy Options - Which Menu Works Best [30 Jun 2010]
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AS Economics Revision - Government Failure [18 May 2010]
Global Business - who sets our standards [21 Apr 2010]
RES Essay Competition: Curbing Alcohol Consumption [12 Apr 2010]
RES Essay Competition - Inequality Title [1 Apr 2010]
Revision Presentation - Positive Externalities [23 Feb 2010]
Revision Presentation - Public Goods [23 Feb 2010]
Revision Presentation - EU & Carbon Emissions Trading [22 Feb 2010]
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Bangernomics and asymmetric information [13 Jan 2010]
Alcohol information failure [13 Jan 2010]
How Markets Fail - the logic of economic calamities [26 Dec 2009]
Nationalisation - Teacher Presentation [17 Nov 2009]
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Gold price brings prospectors to the Highlands [13 Nov 2009]
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Addressing the deficit [10 Oct 2009]
Government legislation week [1 Sep 2009]
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