The effects of the social norm on cigarette consumption: evidence from Japan using panel data

Yamamura, Eiji (2010): The effects of the social norm on cigarette consumption: evidence from Japan using panel data.

Abstract

Using Japan’s prefecture-level panel data from 1989-2001, this paper examines the influence of the social norm on a person’s smoking behavior when the complementary relationship between smoking and drinking is taken into account. The key findings through a dynamic panel model controlling for unobserved prefecture-specific fixed effects are as follows: (1) Influence from others is stronger when people live more closely and cohesively. A tightly knit society results in a reduction of smoking through smoking-related interaction. (2) Smoking and drinking have a complementary relationship: greater initial consumption of alcohol results in larger consumption of cigarettes. (3) The complementary relationship between smoking and dinking is attenuated if the cost of committing the annoying conduct (i.e., smoking) is high. Overall, this empirical study provides evidence that the psychological effect of the presence of surrounding people has a direct significant effect upon smoking behavior and, furthermore, that it attenuates the complementary relationship between smoking and drinking, thereby reducing cigarette consumption. These results indicate that not only formal rules but also tacitly formed informal norms are effective deterrents to smoking.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Smoking behavior, Social norm
• Subjects: I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I1 - Health > I11 - Analysis of Health Care Markets; I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I1 - Health > I12 - Health Behavior; Z - Other Special Topics > Z1 - Cultural Economics ; Economic Sociology ; Economic Anthropology > Z13 - Economic Sociology ; Economic Anthropology ; Social and Economic Stratification

References

Asahi Shinbunsha. 2004. Minryoku: TODOFUKEN-BETSU MINRYOKU SOKUTEI SHIRYOSHU (CD-ROM edition), Asahi-Shinbunsha, Tokyo.

Arcidiacono, P., Sieg, H., and Sloan, F. 2007. Living rationally under the volcano? An empirical analysis of heavy drinking and smoking. International Economic Review 48, 37-65.

Baltagi, B. 2005. Econometric Analysis of Panel Data, John Wiley and Sons.

Becker, G. 1996. Account for Tastes. Harvard University Press, Cambridge.

Becker, G., and Murphy, K. 2000, Social Economics: Market Behavior in a Social Environment. The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.

Brock, W.A., and Durlauf, S.N. 2001. Discrete choice with social interactions. Review of Economic Studies 68, 235-260.

Chaloupka, F.J. 1991. Rational addictive behavior and cigarette smoking. Journal of Political Economy 99, 722-742.

Coleman, J. S. 1990. Foundation of Social Theory. Harvard University Press.

Crane, J. 1991. The epidemic theory of ghettos and neighborhood effects on dropping out and teenage childbearing. American Journal of Sociology 96(5), 1226-1259.

Dee, T.S. 1999. The complementarity of teen smoking behavior and drinking. Journal of Health Economics 18, 769-793.

Evans, W.N., Oates, W.E., and Schwab, R.M. 1992. Measuring peer group effects: A study of teenage behavior. Journal of Political Economy 100(5), 966-991.

Evans, W.N., and Farrelly, M.C. 1999. Montgomery, E. Do workplace smoking bans reduce smoking?. American Economic Review 89(4), 727-748.

Funk, P. 2005. Government action, social norms, and criminal behavior. Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics 161, 522-35.

Gottlieb, N.H., Eriksen, M.P., Lovato, C.Y., Weinstein, R.P., and Green, L.W. 1990. Impact of a restrictive work site smoking policy on smoking behavior, attitudes, and norms. Journal of Occupational Medicine 32(1), 16-23.

Gaviria, A., and Rapahel, S. 2001. School-based peer effects and juvenile behavior. Review of Economics and Statistics 83(2), 257-268.

Glaeser, E. L, Sacerdote, B., and Scheinkman, J.A. 1996. Crime and social interaction. Quarterly Journal of Economics 111(2), 507-548.

Greif, A. 1993. Contract enforceability and economic institutions in early trade: The Maghribi Traders’ Coalition. American Economic Review 83, 525-548.

Greif, A. 1994. Cultural beliefs and the organization of society: A historical and theoretical reflection on collectivist and individualist societies. 102 Journal of Political Economy, 912-950.

Gruber, J., Sen, A., and Stabile, M. 2003. Estimating price elasticities when there is smuggling: The sensitivity of smoking to price in Canada. Journal of Health Economics 22, 821-841.

Haden, K. 1990. The demand for cigarettes in Japan. American Journal of Agricultural Economics 72(2), 446-450.

Hayami Y. 2001. Development Economics: From the poverty to the wealth of nations. Oxford University Press, New York.

Huck, S., and Kosfeld, M. (2007). The dynamics of neighbourhood watch and norm enforcement. Economic Journal, 117, 270-286.

Jacobs, J. 1969. The Economy of Cities, New York: Vintage.

Kim, S., and Seldon, B.J. 2004. The demand for cigarettes in the republic of Korea and implication for government policy to lower cigarette consumption. Contemporary Economic Policy 22(2), 299-308.

Luo, F., Abdel-Ghany, M., and Ogawa, I. 2003. Cigarette smoking in Japan: examination of myoptic and rational models of addictive behavior. Journal of Family and Economic Issues 24(3), 305-317.

Manski, C.F. 1993. Identification of endogenous social effects: the reflection problem. Review of Economic Studies 60, 531-542.

Posner, R. A., and Rasmusen, E. 1999. Creating and enforcing norms, with special reference to sanction. International Review of Law and Economics 19, 369-82.

Putnam, R. 2000. Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. A Touchstone Book.

Powell, L.M., Tauras, J.A., and Ross, H. 2005. The importance of peer effects, cigarette prices and tobacco control policies for youth smoking behavior. Journal of Health Economics 24, 950-968.

World Bank. 1999. Economics of Tobacco Control, Country Data Online document available at www. worldbank. Org/tobacco/ brieflist_db_print.asp.

Yamamura, E. 2008a. The market for lawyers and social capital: Are informal rules a substitute for formal Ones? Review of Law & Economics 4 (1), Article 23.

Yamamura, E. 2008b Impact of formal and informal deterrents on driving behavior. Journal of Socio-economics 37(6), 2505-2512.

Yamamura, E. 2009. Impact of formal and informal deterrents on crime. Journal of Socio-economics, 38(4), 611-621.

Yamamura, E. 2010. Effects of social norms and fractionalization on voting behavior in Japan. Forthcoming in Applied Economics.

Yorozu, I., and Zhou, Y. 2002. The demand of cigarettes in Japan: Impact of information dissemination on cigarette consumption. Contemporary Economic Policy 20(1), 72-82.

Yuanliang, B., and Zongyi, Z. 2005. Aggregate cigarette demand and regional differences in China. Applied Economics 37, 2523-2528.