I have a lot of thoughts about alcohol policy during a pandemic. No cool answers, but fun questions. https://twitter.com/BetseyStevenson/status/1247558417562185729

There has been a 100-300% increase in alcohol sales around the US presumably due to covid19. How much of this is due to a drop-off in alcohol sales at bars and restaurants? Those who usually spend $ X /week on alcohol at bars/restaurants can now afford to drink much more at home.

Alcohol consumption is a leisurely activity, and many of its substitutes are restricted due to the pandemic (e.g. eating out, travel, visiting friends).

I think demand for alcohol is much more inelastic than usual and taxes would be less effective at reducing consumption.

One major negative externality of drinking is drunk driving, which I'd argue is severely diminished due to stay-at-home orders.

OTOH, long-term health health risks don't care whether you're at home or at a bar. Long-term issues are the externalities we should be worried about.

Ultimately, binge drinking is the driver of the largest negative effects of alcohol use. Binge drinking is much worse than casual alcohol use (e.g. 1-2 drinks a night), although both have negative health effects. Would a tax increase impact binge drinking on the margin?

And to the moral/self-care appeal - do we want to make one of our limited leisurely activities more expensive during a pandemic? Especially considering tightening budget constraints.

Self medicating is a fuzzy issue, but I'd wager that more folks are self-medicating with alcohol due to covid19. We could probably argue that self-medication is a net gain considering potentially positive effects on mental health (although this is just a gut instinct).

Anyways, these are questions I've been toying over for a few days.

Banning alcohol consumption altogether is likely a large welfare loss (however we could possibly measure that), but I'd also be wary of increasing taxes during a pandemic given the current state of the world.