Drinking and academic performance in high school

"This paper examines the relationship between drinking and academic performance for high school students in 2001 and 2003 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) data. In particular, we attempt to determine the extent to which the observed negative association between alcohol use and grades reflects correlated unobserved factors rather than a true causal impact of drinking. Taking advantage of the abundant information the YRBS collects on behaviors that are potentially related with both drinking and academic performance, we estimate regressions that successively add proxies for risk and time preference, mental health and self-esteem, along with measures of other substances used. Results indicate that although estimated effects of drinking on grades are substantially reduced in magnitude when these additional covariates are included, they typically remain significantly negative. The impact on the extensive margin is over twice as large for binge drinking than for non-binge drinking, and binge drinking also has intensive margin effects that non-binge drinking does not. Drinking-related grade reductions are larger among those who are more risk averse and future-oriented. An absence of effects on outcomes with which drinking is likely associated in a non-causal way provides further support for our interpretation of the coefficient estimates as causal effects"--National Bureau of Economic Research web site.