Theses and Dissertations at Montana State University (MSU)
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Item The effect of local alcohol access on lottery purchases(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 2022) Peterson, Ridge Walter; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Isaac SwensenThe relationship between gambling and drinking has attracted significant attention from researchers but has been primarily explored in the limited context of laboratory experiments and cross-sectional surveys. In this thesis, I exploit variation in county and city-level 'wet' laws in the state of Texas to estimate the causal effect of local alcohol access on gambling, using per-capita expenditures on two major lottery games, Powerball and Mega Millions, as a measure of gambling consumption. I find that the passage of a city or county-level wet law is associated with a large and significant increase in lottery consumption. While this increase in lottery purchases is observed following the legalization of any alcoholic beverages at the county level, at the city level the effect appears to be driven by laws legalizing the sale of beverages for on-premise consumption. While I cannot distinguish the mechanism by which alcohol availability may affect lottery sales, the implication of this finding is consistent with existing research which finds complementarity between alcohol and gambling.Item An economic analysis of the determinants of Montana alcohol retail license prices(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 2014) Banovetz, James Michael Banovetz, III; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Randal R. RuckerIn Montana, there are a wide array of different alcohol retail license types. The three major types of retail licenses for on-premises consumption are all-beverage, beer and wine, and restaurant beer and wine. The state limits the number of available licenses of each type, employing city-level quotas for incorporated areas and county-level quotas for unincorporated areas. The licenses may trade freely within each quota area, but generally may not be trade between areas. Differing conditions in each quota area leads to large differences in license prices between the various markets. To help explain the differences in price, the study lays out a theoretical model regarding license values. It then tests the model's predictions using license price data from the Montana Department of Revenue. Empirical results are calculated using ordinary least squares, finding that gambling revenue, university enrollment, income, and tourism are all significant determinants of license price. Additionally, the individual license characteristics are statistically and economically significant. These results support the theoretical predictions, providing evidence that the model is an appropriate way to think about the license system.