Abstract:
Concerns surrounding alcohol consumption and poverty have a long history, with both
recognised to be important phenomena in current socio-economic policy analysis. In order to
examine the impact of household level alcohol consumption on poverty, data from four microlevel
surveys conducted by the Department of Census and Statistics was used. The main aim
of this study is to measure the effects of alcohol consumption on the level of poverty in a
systematic way. Using Sri Lanka as a case study, this study demonstrates that consumption of
alcoholic beverages, particularly illegal beverages has a significant positive impact on the
incidence of poverty.
