Grossman and colleagues (1998) applied the Becker-Murphy model to alcohol consumption by young adults ages 17 to 29 using the longitudinal data from the Monitoring the Future project. Given that the prevalence of alcohol dependence and abuse is highest in this age group (Grant et al. 1991), such an approach accounting for the addictive aspects of alcohol consumption may be more relevant to this sample than to a sample including all age groups. Using data obtained in baseline surveys of high school seniors conducted from 1976 through 1985 and in followup surveys conducted through 1989, the investigators estimated alcohol demand both in the context of the model of addictive behavior and in the context of models that ignore the addictive aspects of consumption.
