Smoking, Income and Subjective Well-Being: Evidence from Smoking Bans∗ Abel Brodeur March 16, 2012 Abstract This paper analyses the eects of local smoking bans in the US using county and time variation over the last 20 years. This study investigates three con- sequences related to smoking bans. 1) First, I show that smoking bans (bars and restaurants) decrease the prevalence of smoking. 2) Well-being is also aected by these policies: smoking bans make former, potential and current smokers more satised with their life. Within-family externalities and time- inconsistent family-utility maximization seem to explain these ndings. The largest eect of smoking bans on well-being is for parents and married couples where the spouse is predicted to smoke. 3) Finally, I nd some evidence that smokers who are exposed to a smoking ban are less-opposed to these policies. JEL: D62, H51, I18, I38 Keywords: Smoking policies, subjective well-being, social interactions, be- havior ∗Paris School of Economics, 48 Boulevard Jourdan, 75014 Paris. E-mail:
[email protected]. I would like to give thanks to Andrew Clark and Clément de Chaisemartin who helped me along the way. Financial support from the Fonds Québécois de la Recherche sur la Société et la Culture is gratefully acknowledged. Thanks to seminar participants at PSE. I am also grateful to Jérôme Adda, Fabrice Etilé, Sarah Flèche, Pierre-Yves Geoard, Mathias Lé, Karen Macours, Dimitris Alexandre Mavridis and Arthur Silve for valuable comments. I thank Chris Callahan, at DDB Needham, and Thomas A. Carr, at the American Lung Association, who answered my questions and provided data.