Date of Completion

5-4-2016

Embargo Period

5-3-2016

Keywords

beer industry, minimum wage, alcohol-related traffic fatality, binge drinking, beer demand, product depth, shelf space

Major Advisor

Chad Cotti

Associate Advisor

Ben Campbell

Associate Advisor

Yizao Liu

Field of Study

Agricultural and Resource Economics

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy

Open Access

Open Access

Abstract

The dissertation examines three empirical questions in the U.S. beer industry. The effect of large container consumption has been well explored in other food categories. However, its effect has been ignored in the U.S. beer industry. Although authorities have been imposing different public policies to lower negative externality of excessive alcohol consumption, statistics still clearly provide evidence related to severity of this problem. Therefore, first manuscript studies the impact of large container beer purchases on alcohol-related accidents. The study finds a statistically significant and positive relationship between large container beer purchases and alcohol-related accidents. Approximately 90% of the alcohol consumption by youth is in the form of binge drinking. Thus, second manuscript examines the impact of an unanticipated determinate of binge drinking behavior, minimum wage laws. The study finds a statistically significant and positive relationship between minimum wage increases and binge drinking among youth population. Third manuscript focuses on industry structure of the beer industry. There are many studies focusing on the impact of product variety on different outcome variables. Nonetheless, there is no study aiming to explore the impact of product depth on demand or supply side. In particular, the study examines the effect of product depth on market demand. Results suggest that an optimal product line depth for beer firms might be to provide more package size options than container size options.

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