Raising the Bar: How Legal Drinking Age Laws Affect Teenagers' Well-Being
A new study shows that raising the minimum legal drinking age from 16 to 18 years significantly improves teenagers' academic performance and mental health.
Teenage drinking remains notably high across Europe, with nearly half of 15- to16-year-olds reporting alcohol consumption in the past month, and roughly 30% of them engaging in binge drinking. A new study by Carmen Villa, Assistant Professor of Economics in our department and her co-author* Manuel Bagues, provides novel evidence that raising the minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) from 16 to 18 years significantly improves teenagers' academic performance and mental health.
Spain, a unique setting for evaluation
Over the past few decades, most European countries have raised the minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) from 16 to 18. Because such reforms are usually implemented nationwide, isolating their causal impact can be challenging. Spain introduced the change in different regions at different times, which allows researchers to compare cohorts exposed to different drinking regimes across regions, before and after the regulatory changes.
The study focuses on four regions that implemented the reforms in the last two decades: Castile and Leon (2007), Galicia (2011), Asturias (2015), and the Balearic Islands (2019). This staggered timing allows for comparison across regions changing their policy and those where the MLDA was already 18 using a difference-in-differences research strategy. These reforms typically included comprehensive measures like restricting alcohol sales to minors, limiting venue access, and regulating advertising.
The analysis draws on data from approximately 250,000 Spanish students surveyed about their drinking habits, 180,000 PISA exam takers, and 600,000 individuals from the 2021 census.
Drinking less, performing better
The research shows that raising the MLDA substantially reduced teenage drinking, especially the most harmful drinking behaviours. Among Spanish teenagers aged 14 to 17, the probability of getting drunk in the previous month fell by 17% (5 percentage points), while binge drinking decreased by 14%. Importantly, the effects were consistent across both self-reports and reports about friends' drinking, suggesting genuine behavioural changes rather than mere reporting bias. Even though authorities faced implementation challenges as some teenagers bypassed the law by obtaining alcohol through older friends, the reductions in binge drinking and intoxication translated into significant educational gains.
Pupils exposed to the higher MLDA scored 4% better on PISA exams (measured in standard deviations), equivalent to approximately two months of additional schooling. These improvements are consistent with evidence from the medical literature that alcohol directly impairs cognitive development during adolescence, a period of life during which the brain remains highly vulnerable to its effects.
Improved mental health
The study also revealed substantial mental health gains. In regions where the minimum legal drinking age was raised, teenagers were 10% less likely to use anxiolytics and hypnotics, medications prescribed for anxiety and insomnia. This novel evidence establishes a direct, causal link between alcohol consumption and mental health outcomes, aligns with existing medical observations.
Importantly, these benefits emerged without measurable shifts in other behaviours. Students did not change the amount of time spent studying, socializing, using the internet, or participating in sports, nor did they substitute alcohol with other substances such as cannabis or cigarettes. This pattern suggests that the observed academic improvements stem directly from alcohol’s neurocognitive effects rather than from indirect lifestyle changes.
Insights for Switzerland
The study's findings carry relevance for countries like Switzerland, where 16-year-olds can legally consume beer and wine and which has higher youth drinking rates than the EU average. While the Swiss confederation raised the MLDA for spirits to to 18 years old in 1932, softer alcoholic beverages remain accessible to 16-year-olds. The evidence from Spain suggests that stronger restrictions could yield educational benefits.
Villa and Bagues argue that better enforcement of existing age restrictions or extending the MLDA to 18 for all types of alcohol in countries where distinctions remain, could meaningfully improve educational outcomes. Given the relatively low implementation costs compared to educational interventions achieving similar results, such as reducing class sizes or increasing instruction time by 1.5 hours weekly, MLDA policies represent a cost-effective tool for enhancing cognitive youth development.