Peer Effects, Tobacco Control Policies, and Youth Smoking Behavior Lisa M. Powell, PhD John A. Tauras, PhD Hana Ross, PhD February 2003 Research Paper Series, No. 24 ImpacTeen is part of the Bridging the Gap Initiative: Research Informing Practice for Healthy Youth Behavior, supported by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and administered by the University of Illinois at Chicago. Peer Effects, Tobacco Control Policies, and Youth Smoking Behavior February 2003 Lisa M. Powell, Ph.D. Associate Professor, Queen’s University and Senior Research Specialist, HRPC, UIC 850 West Jackson Blvd, Suite 400 Chicago, IL 60607-3025
[email protected] John A. Tauras, Ph.D. Hana Ross, Ph. D. Assistant Professor of Economics, UIC Research Specialist, HPRC, UIC and Faculty Research Fellow, NBER 850 West Jackson Blvd, Suite 400 601 S. Morgan St., Room 2103 Chicago, IL 60607-3025 Chicago, IL 60607-7121
[email protected] [email protected] Acknowledgements We gratefully acknowledge funding support for this research from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation through the Substance Abuse Policy Research Program and ImpacTeen (A Policy Research Partnership to Reduce Youth Substance Use). We thank Frank Chaloupka and Richard Peck for their comments and suggestions. The authors are grateful to Yanjun Bao for her excellent research assistance. Copyright 2003 University of Illinois at Chicago 2 Abstract This paper expands the youth cigarette demand literature by undertaking an examination of the determinants of smoking among high school students incorporating the importance of peer effects and allowing cigarette prices (taxes) and tobacco control policies to have a direct effect and an indirect effect (via the peer effect) on smoking behavior.