Balsa, Ana I. 2008. “Parental Problem-Drinking and Adult Children’s Labor Market Outcomes.” Journal of Human Resources 43(2): 454–486.
Current estimates of the societal costs of alcoholism do not consider the impact of parental drinking on children. This paper analyzes the consequences of parental problem-drinking on children’s labor market outcomes in adulthood. Using the NLSY79, I show that having a problem-drinking parent is associated with longer periods out of the labor force, lengthier unemployment, and lower wages, in particular for male respondents. Increased probabilities of experiencing health problems and abusing alcohol are speculative forces behind these effects. While causality cannot be determined due to imprecise IV estimates, the paper calls for further investigation of the intergeneration costs of problem-drinking.
Ana I. Balsa is a visiting scientist with the Health Economics Research Group (HERG) at the University of Miami and a visiting professor at the University of Montevideo, Uruguay. Financial assistance for this study was provided by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (grant number R01 AA13167). The author gratefully acknowledges comments and suggestions by attendants to the HERG research meetings, three anonymous referees, William Russell for editorial assistance, and Jamila Wade and Colleen Trifilo for research assistance. The results, opinions, and positions presented in this paper reflect the views of the author alone and do not necessarily represent those of the University of Miami or the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. The data used in this article can be obtained beginning October 2008 through September 2011 from Ana I. Balsa, Ph.D., University of Miami, Sociology Research Center, 5665 Ponce de Leon Boulevard, Flipse Building room 122, Coral Gables, FL 33146-0719, U.S.A.; abalsa@miami.edu.