Unique study to look at economics of drinking
Professor, students hope to connect parental background to underage drinking
Scott Hansen
Issue date: 2/23/09 Section: Campus News
After a week of successful pilot testing and working out some minor kinks, a pair of UW-Eau Claire students and economics professor Sanjukta Chaudhuri will begin implementing a survey that will gather data for a first-of-its-kind study.
Last semester, senior economics majors Drew Bowlsby and Robyn Fennig were approached to aid in conducting a study. The study aims to find new evidence of the cause and impact of underage drinking among Eau Claire students, according to its objective sheet. The two students are doing most of the grunt work, Bowlsby said, which means making a survey that will gather data and implementing it by using the Internet and classroom surveys.
Once the data has been collected, Chauhuri will be the main person analyzing the results. It will be unique and the first-of-its-kind in many ways, Bowlsby said.
First, it will attempt to do something that has never been done before by taking a look at participants' parental background as a dimension to understanding incidences of underage alcohol consumption.
Additionally, it will look at price elasticity in the demand for alcohol and its policy implications.
"By asking about parental background, we will be expanding upon that dimension in new way," Bowlsby said. "If we get honest answers we can correlate the drinking habits to parental actions … if people's parents have acted in such a way we may be able to see that it influences their behavior … so hopefully we will find something new there."
Bowlsby will begin handing out surveys to classrooms all over the Eau Claire campus this week while Fennig will be in charge of the Web surveys. The pair is hoping to get at least 2,000 participants and thinks the Eau Claire campus is the perfect place to do this study.
Bowlsby said that with Eau Claire's diversity and a studentpopulation that is not too big but not too small, the results should be reliable. The study is intended purely for academic purposes.
"We don't have an agenda," Bowlsby said. "This survey is not intended to be anti-drinking … we are just trying to make the most publicly useful thing."
Bowlsby hopes that if the findings regarding economics are significant, the study will be used by policymakers down the line to perhaps implement taxes on alcohol in the event that consumption at universities gets out of hand.
"The study may be able to find out that price sensitivity and draw the line in the sand and pin point when people won't buy alcohol," Bowlsby said. "Then that will send a strong suggestion of what to do if there is a movement to end binge drinking."
Once the data has been collected and analyzed, the three researchers will begin preparing to appear at various conferences.
A presentation and poster will be created to spread the word on the findings of the study and to inform those in the dark about the subject.
Last semester, senior economics majors Drew Bowlsby and Robyn Fennig were approached to aid in conducting a study. The study aims to find new evidence of the cause and impact of underage drinking among Eau Claire students, according to its objective sheet. The two students are doing most of the grunt work, Bowlsby said, which means making a survey that will gather data and implementing it by using the Internet and classroom surveys.
Once the data has been collected, Chauhuri will be the main person analyzing the results. It will be unique and the first-of-its-kind in many ways, Bowlsby said.
First, it will attempt to do something that has never been done before by taking a look at participants' parental background as a dimension to understanding incidences of underage alcohol consumption.
Additionally, it will look at price elasticity in the demand for alcohol and its policy implications.
"By asking about parental background, we will be expanding upon that dimension in new way," Bowlsby said. "If we get honest answers we can correlate the drinking habits to parental actions … if people's parents have acted in such a way we may be able to see that it influences their behavior … so hopefully we will find something new there."
Bowlsby will begin handing out surveys to classrooms all over the Eau Claire campus this week while Fennig will be in charge of the Web surveys. The pair is hoping to get at least 2,000 participants and thinks the Eau Claire campus is the perfect place to do this study.
Bowlsby said that with Eau Claire's diversity and a studentpopulation that is not too big but not too small, the results should be reliable. The study is intended purely for academic purposes.
"We don't have an agenda," Bowlsby said. "This survey is not intended to be anti-drinking … we are just trying to make the most publicly useful thing."
Bowlsby hopes that if the findings regarding economics are significant, the study will be used by policymakers down the line to perhaps implement taxes on alcohol in the event that consumption at universities gets out of hand.
"The study may be able to find out that price sensitivity and draw the line in the sand and pin point when people won't buy alcohol," Bowlsby said. "Then that will send a strong suggestion of what to do if there is a movement to end binge drinking."
Once the data has been collected and analyzed, the three researchers will begin preparing to appear at various conferences.
A presentation and poster will be created to spread the word on the findings of the study and to inform those in the dark about the subject.
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