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OK, but how much does the economy gain by people discussing work at the pub the evening before?

That's a good point. There was a study back in 2006[1] that showed that people who drank made more money (about 10-14%) at their jobs than non-drinkers and social drinkers. So, it can me argued that drinking may actually help the economy as a whole, even if hangovers themselves cause a short term loss in productivity.

[1]: http://reason.org/news/show/127594.html

Hmm, that seems to say that social drinkers (people who go to bars once per month) make more.

So it's not really the drinking aspect, it's specifically the socializing aspect. You could go to bars and drink only non alcoholic drinks and probably have the same effect, assuming you can still be sociable without alcohol.

Oh yea, it's totally the socialization aspect. There is a similar study (I don't have a link off-hand, but it was something covered at length in an Introduction to Sociology textbook I had years ago) that points out that people involved in their church communities enjoyed similar benefits to the drinkers. The key here is socialization. I suspect you don't earn anymore by getting ripped by yourself in the privacy of your home every night and subsequently showing up at work with a headache and a sour attitude every morning.

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