Friday Fun: Who are bigger drinkers, liberals or conservatives?

A couple weeks ago we learned that Republicans prefer brown liquor while Democrats prefer clear spirits. This week we've discovered that liberals are bigger drinkers. According to Pavel A. Yakovlev and Walter P. Guessford of Duquesne University in their paper, “Alcohol Consumption and Political Ideology: What’s Party Got to Do with It?,” as states become more liberal politically, beer and spirit consumption increases, while wine consumption goes down.Here is the abstract:

Recent research in psychology and sociology has established a connection between political beliefs and unhealthy behaviors such as excessive alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drug consumption. In this study, we estimate the relationship between political ideology and the demand for beer, wine, and spirits using a longitudinal panel of fifty U.S. states from 1952 to 2010. Controlling for various socioeconomic factors and unobserved heterogeneity, we find that when a state becomes more liberal politically, its consumption of beer and spirits rises, while its consumption of wine may fall. Our findings suggest that political beliefs are correlated with the demand for alcohol.

Regardless of your political leaning, be careful out there this weekend.