Do laws requiring vertical IDs for youth curb underage drinking and tobacco use?

All 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia have adopted vertical identification laws, which require state drivers’ licenses issued to individuals under age 21 to be vertically oriented, with the goals of lowering the cost of age verification and curbing underage drinking and smoking. Research published in Contemporary Economic Policy indicates that these laws have not achieved these goals, however. 

For the study, investigators analyzed 1991–2019 data from the national and state Youth Risk Behavior Surveys. The analysis found no evidence that adoption of vertical identification laws has had a statistically significant or economically important effect on teenage drinking and smoking. 

“Given that policymakers sought the adoption of vertical identification laws to reduce the supply of false IDs and to reduce public health costs of underage purchases of cigarettes and alcohol, our updated estimates... suggest that this policy strategy was largely ineffective,” the authors wrote. 

URL upon publication: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/coep.12690

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First published in 1982, Contemporary Economic Policy publishes scholarly research and analysis on important policy issues facing society. The journal provides insight into the complexity of policy decisions and communicates evidence-based solutions in a form accessible to economists and policy makers. Contemporary Economic Policy provides a forum for debate by enhancing our understanding of key issues and methods used for policy analysis.

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