FACTORS INFLUENCING ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION IN CARIBBEAN AND LATIN AMERICAN COUNTRIES

Alcohol consumption is considered an important social activity but a major health risk in Latin American and Caribbean countries (LAC). Alcohol consumption net benefits are doubtful and the factors influencing alcohol consumption in the LAC countries are not well documented. In this study, we use secondary data and Ordinary Least Squares Regression models to evaluate the factors influencing alcohol consumption in LAC countries. The factors that significantly affect alcohol consumption are: alcohol imports, alcohol exports, alcohol production, consumer price index, real GDP per capita, urban population, number of television sets available to the household, and whether the person is from the Caribbean or not. A closer look at the factors indicates that a 1.0 percent increase in alcohol imports is associated with a 0.17 increase in alcohol consumption, while a 1.0 percent in alcohol exports reduces alcohol consumption by 0.05 percent. A 1.0 percent increase in alcohol production influences alcohol consumption by an increase of 0.43 percent. Gender and the number of tourist visitors had little effect on alcohol consumption. Price had an inverse relationship with alcohol consumption which may suggest that alcohol consumption is at the addiction level in LAC countries, or that alcohol may be a giffen good. Alcohol consumption in Caribbean countries was about 50 percent higher than Central American countries. The study provides useful information on factors influencing alcohol consumption in LAC countries, but many of the pertinent health variables were not included in the model.