Indonesia running out of booze

Posted By Joshua Keating Tuesday, December 16, 2008 - 11:55 AM Share

Someone in this nation of a quarter billion people needs to be sent out on a beer run.

Indonesia may soon be in danger of running out of alchohol. The Muslim country has only one legal importer and charges sin taxes of up to 400 percent. After a government crackdown on the thriving black market, many bars are on the verge of going dry. With young Indonesians increasingly acquring a taste for drinking, the BBC reports, that might be just what the government wants.

For more on the root of this problem, (and an explanation of the above photo) check out this Passport classic.

Update: The Freakonomics blog asks, "will higher liquor prices discourage Indonesians from drinking? Or, instead, will more expensive alcohol behave like a Giffen good, becoming that much more in demand?"

Photo: BAY ISMOYO/AFP/Getty Images

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