Changing patterns of alcohol use and poverty

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.