10.4225/03/5934f36607669 Richardson, Jeff Jeff Richardson Crowley, Steve Steve Crowley Taxation to Minimise the Social and Economic Costs of Alcohol Consumption Monash University 2017 1959.1/2590 1992 monash:2590 2017-06-05 06:00:04 Journal contribution https://bridges.monash.edu/articles/journal_contribution/Taxation_to_Minimise_the_Social_and_Economic_Costs_of_Alcohol_Consumption/5073490 This paper considers alternative approaches to the evaluation of the economic cost of alcohol consumption in Australia. It calculates the impact of alternative tax rates on beer, wine and spirits separately and the welfare cost of these taxes in terms of the distortion caused to consumption patterns. Two separate analyses are carried out. First optimal taxation is calculated which minimises the total welfare plus economic cost. Secondly, the benefits of life are separated from other benefits and the impact of tax expressed in terms of the cost per life year gained.