Government Regulation of the Alcohol Industry: The Search for Revenue and the Common Good

by Richard McGowan

Overview

This is the third book in what the author calls his sin trilogy: the gambling, tobacco, and alcohol industries. Similar to the gambling and tobacco industries, the alcohol industry is one in which the business and public policy processes are intimately linked. Furthermore, it is a highly regulated industry whose very existence depends upon the will of government at all levels and branches. What all the industries share is that they are viewed as a painless source of revenue for government. The alcohol industry is composed of three segments, namely beer, distilled spirits, and wine, each with a distinct product and market. Since the end of Prohibition, public policy makers have developed a certain tolerance for alcohol products, but they continue to grapple with the question of how to deal with the alcohol problem. While the author updates the current structure and strategies of competition among these industries, his primary rationale for doing so is to analyze how these industries react to increased public scrutiny of their business activities. The other unique feature of this book is its emphasis on how public policy measures affect the sale of beer, distilled spirits, and wine at the state level.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781567200348
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	08/26/1997
Pages:	192
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	1400L (what's this?)

About the Author

RICHARD MCGOWAN is Adjunct Professor in Economics at Boston College. He is coauthor (with John Mahon) of Industry as a Player in the Political and Social Arena (1996), and author of Business, Politics and Cigarettes (1995) and State Lotteries (1994), all published by Quorum.

Table of Contents

Preface
An Historical and Theoretical Review of Alcohol-Government Relations
Introduction to the Alcohol-Government Controversy
A Model for Social and Political Strategy
A Brief History of the American Alcohol Industry
The Current American Alcohol Industry
The Beer Industry
The Distilled Spirits Industry
The Wine Industry
The Effects of Regulations on Alcohol Sales and the Future of the Alcohol Industry
The Effect of Alcohol Excise Taxes on Alcohol Beverage Sales
The MADD Movement and Anti-Drunk Driving Laws
Conclusions and the Future of Alcohol-Government Relations
Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

Focusing on the interactions of the alcohol industry and public policy makers, McGowan (U. of Scranton) describes the current structure of the beer and distilled spirits industries and the strategies that alcohol firms use to compete with one another. His analyzes how these industries react to increased public scrutiny of their business activities, and how public policy measures affect the sales of the beer, distilled spirits, and wine industries at the state level. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

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