Reply to Siegel Et Al.: Alcohol Advertising in Magazines and Disproportionate Exposure

Nelson investigated advertising placements for a diverse sample of 28 magazines and concluded that targeting of underage youth by alcohol advertisers was not occurring. Siegel et al. claim that my results suffer from collinearity, but fail to present a comprehensive measure of multicollinearity. For my model, variance inflation factors are within acceptable limits and estimation using redefined variables does not alter my prior results or conclusion. Further, Siegel et al.’s empirical results are fragile and do not support a targeting outcome. I also discuss the limitations of estimates of magazine readerships and the shortcomings of the public health literature on advertising and youth alcohol behaviors. Neither the empirical results in Siegel et al. nor their literature citations support a public policy based on a simple rule of disproportionate exposure. (JEL L82, L66, M37)