Homogenisation in alcohol consumption in the European Union

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Abstract
Håkan Leifman: Homogenisation in alcohol consumption in the European Union This article examines the trends in aggregate alcohol consumption in 15 European countries (14 European Union or EU member states and Norway) from 1950 to 1995. One of the aims is to outline the general trends in total consumption and beverage preferences, focusing on the dispersion over time between all the countries involved, another to look more closely behind these trends and to analyse the development for different groups of countries. Evidence points to a clear homogenisation for the whole study period in qualitative terms, that is, in beverage preferences. In terms of quantity, the homogenisation of the last 15–20 years is less distinct and can be explained mainly by a drastic reduction in wine consumption in the Mediterranean wine-drinking countries. As to the remaining countries (beer and former spirits-drinking countries), there has not been any quantitative homogenisation from the mid-1970s onwards. The results are discussed in the light of the on-going globalisation of economy, politics and culture, not least between the EU member states.