I’ll raise a beer to that A new study by economists Bethany Peters and Edward Stringham has found that those who drink socially earn 10% or more than than those who don’t. The study found that social drinking helped people with their “social capital” - anything from a person’s charisma to the number of people in their social network.

This, in turn, helped their salary. For example, the authors say what might happen is that if a person has more social and business contacts, it may be easier for them to find a new job. Social drinking may also strengthen relationships with their co-workers and/or clients which could ultimately increase their salary.

Drinking anywhere, however, won’t work. To make the drinking pay off for your pocket book, it needs to be in with friends. The study found that those who drank in a social setting earned more than those who stayed home to drink alone. Some more from the study: