More interesting than the effect of price changes on aggregate
demand is the effect on drinking patterns that may impinge on
health and safety. We would like to know how economic factors
affect the prevalence of abstention, bingeing, and chronic heavy
drinking. Drinking by particular population groups, such as women
during their child-bearing years and youths, are also of special interest.
This sort of detailed empirical analysis cannot be performed
with the aggregate data generated by the excise-tax system; rather,
it requires data on individuals. In most cases, such microdata are
taken from surveys in which respondents are asked to report how
much they drink. Needless to say, many people are not entirely
truthful about this matter, or they may be fooling themselves