Alcohol Availability and the Formal Power and Resources of State Alcohol Beverage Control Agencies

The formal powers and resources of state alcohol beverage control agencies place them in a position to regulate access to alcoholic beverages through restrictions on retail distribution and sales. For example, monopoly states restrict access to spirits, and sometimes wine, by allowing retail sales only through state stores. On the other hand, license and monopoly states share in restricting sales through the use of price posting and fixing provisions. The degree to which these powers are realized in restrictions on alcohol outlets (e.g., licenses) and subsequent alcohol consumption (e.g., sales) was investigated in the current study. In a cross-sectional analysis of data available from 44 alcohol beverage control (ABC) jurisdictions in the United States, it was shown that states with greater restrictions on retail sales had greater resources for the conduct of ABC activities and lower densities of spirit outlets. These states, however, had greater densities of wine and beer outlets. States with greater marketplace restrictions had more resources for ABC enforcement activities and lower outlet densities across all beverage types. Further, supporting the suggestion that availability and demand may be simultaneously related, greater outlet densities were related to greater alcohol consumption (for beer) and greater levels of consumption were related to greater outlet densities (for wine).