Equity in household spending on alcoholic beverages in South Africa: assessing changes between 1995 and 2011

Abstract

Background Globally, alcohol consumption accounts for a substantial burden of disease, which translates into high social and economic costs. To address this burden, several policies (e.g. age and trading hour restrictions, increasing alcohol taxation) were implemented. Despite the existence of these policies evidence shows that alcohol misuse and alcohol-related harms have increased in South Africa over recent years. The objective of this paper is to assess progressivity and the changes in progressivity of alcohol expenditure at the household level in South Africa using datasets that span 15 years. Methods Data come from the 1995, 2000, 2005/06 and 2010/11 South Africa Income Expenditure Survey. Distribution of spending on alcoholic beverages were analyzed using standard methodologies. Changes in progressivity between 1995 and 2000, and between 2005/06 and 2010/11 were also assessed using the Kakwani index. Results Alcohol spending was regressive between 1995 and 2011 as the fraction of poorer households’ expenditure spent on alcohol beverage exceeds that for the richest households. Also, the difference in Kakwani indexes of progressivity indicates that spending on alcoholic beverages has become less regressive between the same time periods. Conclusion The results show no evidence that alcohol policy including taxation increased regressivity. Thus, there is an opportunity to further reduce the regressivity using coherent alcohol policies. This paper concludes that there is a need for further research to unpack why alcohol spending became less regressive over the years that goes beyond just looking at changes in the distribution of alcohol expenditure.

Assessing Intertemporal Socioeconomic Inequalities in Alcohol Consumption in South Africa

“…Results in this paper identify the sociodemographic groups that are more likely to engage in high-risk drinking and be exposed to alcohol-related harms. Thus, to reduce risk by decreasing consumption levels, especially harmful consumption, this paper emphasizes that policies should target both the factors that increase people's susceptibility to the consequences of alcohol use [for example access to alcohol retail outlets and alcohol advertising (37,38)], as well as measures to reduce or mitigate rising alcohol consumption [for example alcohol excise taxes (16,(39)(40)(41)(42)(43)(44)(45)].…”

“…Alcohol consumption patterns are different for different alcoholic beverages. Wines and spirits are consumed mainly by high SES individuals, while beer is consumed mainly by low SES individuals (15,16). These results might suggest that alcohol abuse in SA is not a reflection of genuine differences in alcohol consumption patterns among SES but may be a result of a more complex social problem.…”

“…However, the under-reporting might have a small impact on the results of equity analyses since the underreporting of consumption may differ by level of alcohol risk drinking rather than SES (47,48). Also, differences in standard drinking according to the type of beverage preference by SES (15,16) may result in differences in the total quantity of standard drinking by SES. However, the bias might have a small impact on the results with similar patterns in underreporting of consumption by SES.…”

Impact of Taxation Policy on Household Spirit Consumption and Public-Finance Sustainability

“…The adverse effects of alcohol are more closely related to people who drink frequently, belong to disadvantaged groups, and heavily drink spirits rather than beer or wine [7][8][9]. Moreover, excessive alcohol consumption, especially in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs), could cause growing disparity in health, poverty, and nonproductivity [6,10,11]. In line with the above facts, regulating alcohol use has become a global and national priority, not only to address health concerns, but also to improve economic growth and reduce poverty.…”

An exploration of binge drinking and coping behaviour during covid-19 among students in a major tertiary institution in KwaZulu-Natal.

“…Worldwide, alcohol intake accounts for a substantial disease burden, leading to increased social and economic costs (Fontes Marx et al, 2019). Several policies were designed to deal with this burden and decrease alcohol-related harm.…”