The Effect of Sunday Alcohol Sales Bans on Teen Drinking in Georgia

Current Blue laws are primarily concerned with limiting the sale of alcohol on Sunday. This presumably decreases adverse outcomes related to alcohol consumption. We examine whether the repeal of alcohol sales on Sunday in Georgia had an impact on teenage drinking, which is linked to a multitude of risky behaviors. We exploit the heterogeneous repeal across counties and municipalities. To account for potential endogeneity, we employ an instrumental variable approach. Across several model specifications, we find no effect of repeal on underage drinking. Concerns that repeal might contribute to increases in underage drinking appear to be unfounded in this case.