Round-up: Blue hair and mental instability

The most interesting articles that came to our attention this week

Alcohol, Violence, and Injury-Induced Mortality: Evidence from a Modern-Day Prohibition. Kai Barron and colleagues examine the impact of South Africa’s five-week alcohol ban in July 2020. Comparing the year of the ban to previous years, they find that it led to a substantial 14% reduction in the total number of unnatural deaths. They also find that it led to a temporary reduction in violent crime, particularly rape.

A gender gap in gender gaps: social norms and housework reporting. Martin Acht and Mara Rebaudo examine the impact of the interviewer’s gender on reporting of time spent on housework in social surveys. Analysing data from Germany, they find that women report significantly more time spent on housework when interviewed by a woman. By contrast, interviewer’s gender does not affect men’s reporting. These results may be explained by intrasexual competition among women.