People who drink the most can least afford it

THE ‘big boozers’ tend to come primarily from the lower income sector with moderate drinkers in the higher earners bracket, according to the findings of a study presented at NUI Galway this week.
No reference has been made in a series of alcohol studies on the ‘potential benefits’ of being a moderate drinker, study author Dr. Gillian Ormond told an economics conference at NUI Galway.
One of the more unusual findings of the study carried out by Dr. Ormond was the fact that moderate drinkers came from a higher income bracket than both heavy drinkers and non drinkers.
The thesis – co-authored by Dr. Catherine Murphy at University College Cork – showed that heavy drinkers fell into the weekly wage category of between €441 and €454. Non-drinkers fell into the €539 to €550 per week wage category while moderate drinkers were in the €652 to €665 weekly wage bracket.
“Many previous studies into the effects of alcohol consumption on income in other countries find that moderate drinkers earn more than both non drinkers and heavy drinkers,” Dr. Ormond’s thesis states.
In terms of gender comparison, men are more likely to be heavy drinkers than women while, on average, people drink less as they get older.
The least likely category of the population to be non drinkers, according to the study, were students or those on State training schemes.
The most likely group of people to be non drinkers are those involved in church activities while people who started smoking at a young age were also likely to be drinkers, probably based on an individual’s attitude to risk.
The study entitled, An Analysis of the Effect of Alcohol Consumption on Household Income in Ireland, was presented by Dr. Ormond to The 11th Irish Society of New Economists Conference at NUI Galway this week.
For more on this story, see the Galway City Tribune.