JOURNAL ARTICLE

Do vertical ID laws curb teenage drinking and tobacco use?

  • Published In: Contemporary Economic Policy, 2026, v. 44, n. 1. P. 28 1 of 3

  • Database: Business Source Ultimate 2 of 3

  • Authored By: Leonard, Russell S.; Sabia, Joseph J. 3 of 3

Abstract

Vertical identification laws (VILs)—which require state drivers' licenses issued to individuals under age 21 to be vertically oriented—have been adopted widely across the United States. We find no evidence that VIL adoption has a statistically significant or economically important effect on teenage drinking and smoking. This result persists using Callaway and Sant'Anna estimates and extends to binge drinking, marijuana use, and drinking and driving. Finally, we show that prior estimates reported in the literature are sensitive to sample period studied, choice of Youth Risk Behavior Survey dataset, and accounting for heterogeneous and dynamic treatment effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Additional Information

  • Source:Contemporary Economic Policy. 2026/01, Vol. 44, Issue 1, p28
  • Document Type:Article
  • Subject Area:Law
  • Publication Date:2026
  • ISSN:1074-3529
  • DOI:10.1111/coep.12690
  • Accession Number:190687628
  • Copyright Statement:Copyright of Contemporary Economic Policy is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

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