Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

Using a census of police reports and court charges in New Zealand from 2014 to 2019, we investigate how legal access to purchase and consume alcohol affects crime rates committed by adolescents in the neighborhood of the minimum legal drinking age of 18 years. Local average treatment effects suggest increases in drinking frequency and consumption volume upon gaining legal access to alcohol. Findings reveal significant increases in alcohol-related crimes, including drunk driving, consumption on prohibited areas, and public intoxication. Increases are also found for crimes commonly associated with excessive alcohol consumption, such as disorderly conduct, common assault, and property damage. We examine whether potential confounders, including the legal right to live apart from one’s guardians at age 18, and the right to enter into legal contracts at age 18, contaminate the analysis using additional administrative data sources. While increases in both reported and prosecuted crimes are statistically significant, they are relatively small in magnitude compared to existing literature in the United States. This implies that laws to further restrict access to alcohol may reduce crime, though such policies are not likely to have a large impact in countries where crime rates are low to begin with.