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I.
Introduction
Numerous empirical studies estimate demand functions for alcohol beverages. In many studies, the focus is price sensitivity, but income elasticities also are important, especially for wine and distilled spirits. Price elasticity estimates are utilized for taxation and pricing policies, while income estimates can be used for anticipation of demand growth arising from differences in real incomes over time or across countries. Also important are tests of basic theoretical constructs and application of new econometric techniques or new data. Increasingly, price estimates are a source of debate over public policies that address alcohol-related problems and harms (Babor et al., 2010; Cawley and Ruhm, 2011; Cook, 2007). As a result of research efforts over the past 50 years, demand elasticities for alcohol are widely available for developed countries, especially English-speaking and Scandinavian countries. The empirical estimates for price and income analyzed here cover 21 different countries for wine and spirits. 1
Given the multiplicity of studies and estimates, several different summaries of demand elasticities are available. First, as a prelude to econometric estimation, many empirical studies include a selective summary of prior elasticity estimates. Examples include Collis et al. (2010), Eakins and Gallagher (2005), Lariviere et al. (2000), Pompelli and Heien (1991), and Tremblay and Tremblay (2005). Second, traditional narrative surveys provide more detailed descriptions of individual studies along with a summary of estimates, usually in tabular form. Examples of well-known narrative surveys are Chaloupka (2004), Edwards et al. (1994), Leung and Phelps (1993), and Ornstein and Levy (1983). Third, meta-analyses provide statistical summaries of empirical estimates in the form of averages, weighted averages, and meta-regressions that use estimated elasticities as dependent variables. Recent examples are Fogarty (2009), Gallet (2007), and Wagenaar et al. (2009). As discussed below, these analyses contain several shortcomings, including insufficient attention to outliers and publication bias. However, compared to narrative reviews, meta-analysis has several advantages as a method for summarizing and synthesizing an empirical literature (Borenstein et al., 2009; Nelson and Kennedy, 2009; Stanley and Doucouliagos, 2012). Meta-analysis can produce a synthesis that is more transparent and less subject to reviewer biases, which may be hidden or not obvious in narrative reviews. Weights used in meta-analysis are derived from statistical theory, rather...