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Alcohol consumption and individual time preferences of Russians
This paper explores the relationship between socioeconomic factors—particularly, the rate of time preferences and alcohol consumption in Russia. The rate of time preferences shows an individual’s willingness to delay the utility from consumption to future periods of time. The relationship between this rate and indicators of alcohol consumption is examined separately for men and women. We find significant differences in men’s and women’s patterns of consumption of alcohol. Our findings suggest that the rate of time preferences, along with age, educational level, income, place of residence, and health substantially, affects an individual’s decision to drink alcohol. We show that employment status is endogenous to alcohol consumption and that estimating a system of binary equations is necessary.