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Influence of Holy Month Ramadan on Alcohol Consumption in Turkey

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Abstract

This study utilizes a balanced panel data set covering 50 monthly observations regarding the brewery products to examine the impact of holy month Ramadan on alcohol consumption in Turkey. In addition to the Ramadan, temperature, prices of the products and disposable income are other demand factors which are taken into account in this study. As expected, the Ramadan has been found to be associated with lower alcohol usage. As price of alcoholic drinks increases, the alcohol consumption decreases significantly. In addition, alcohol consumption rises with the enhancements in the disposable income. However, surprisingly, the temperature has not any significant effect on alcohol consumption in Turkey.

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Notes

  1. Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar and lasts 29 or 30 days. Since there are 10 days less in the Islamic lunar calendar than in the solar calendar, Ramadan comes 10 days earlier every year. The result of determining fasting days according to the lunar calendar instead of solar calendar are twofold: First, the number of Ramadan days in a given month of solar calendar varies every year. Second, Muslims observe the fast at different periods and at different climate conditions even they do not change their locations. The first effect is explained by Ramadan variable while the second one is taken into account by the help of interaction variable between Ramadan and Temperature variables.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Turkish Competition Authority, Üniversiteler Mahallesi, 1597. Cadde No:9 Çankaya, 06800, Ankara, Turkey

    Aydın Çelen

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  1. Aydın Çelen
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Correspondence to Aydın Çelen.

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Çelen, A. Influence of Holy Month Ramadan on Alcohol Consumption in Turkey. J Relig Health 54, 2122–2133 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-014-9875-6

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