ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF FAS PREVENTIVE INTERVENTION

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DESCRIPTION (Adapted from applicant's abstract): The proposed study will conduct econometric investigations of four types of naturally occurring interventions that have the potential to prevent fetal alcohol syndrome and fetal alcohol effects. First, the project will extend economics research on the effectiveness of alcohol tax and availability policies to examine their role in reducing alcohol consumption and abuse by pregnant women. Second, the project will examine the extent to which alcohol consumption by pregnant women is reduced by state and local legislation, requiring point of sale alcohol health warning signs. Third, the project will employ econometric methodology to estimate the treatment effect of the receipt of physician advice on alcohol consumption by pregnant women. Fourth, the project will re-visit the impact of the 1989 federal requirement of warning labels on alcohol beverage containers. To accomplish these aims, the project will analyze data from the 1988 National Maternal and Infant Health Survey (NMIHS) conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics. The public use national files provide a sample of almost 19,000 pregnant women. The data contain measures of the women's alcohol consumption, prenatal care, and receipt of advice from a health care professional about drinking while pregnant. Information on state alcoholic beverage tax rates and legal requirements for point-of-sale alcohol health warning signs will be merged with the individual-level data in the NMIHS. The project will also use the 1991 Longitudinal Follow-up Survey to the 1988 NMIHS to investigate the impact of alcohol beverage warning labels. By fortunate timing, the 1988 NMIHS and its 1991 Follow-up Survey provide information on pregnant women's alcohol consumption before and after the implementation of required alcohol beverage warning labels. The results of the study will provide estimates of the effectiveness of current interventions, to provide information for policymakers on the relative benefits and costs of alternative approaches.