What economics can contribute to the addiction sciences (original) (raw)
Related papers
Journal of Drug Issues, 1998
This introductory essay examines the issues and perspectives that separate the economics literature from the work of scholars in other social sciences who share a concern about problems of substance abuse. The economic perspective is summarized and the ways in which it is complementary to the other social sciences is explored. Sociological theories of drug abuse are reviewed to assess the extent to which they implicitly incorporate economic ideas. Microeconomics, the theoretical core of economics, is the study of choice under constraints. It is argued that economists bring to the theory of deviance vast experience in modeling choices in a variety of institutional settings. Economics, therefore, may significantly contribute to an integrated social science model of deviance.
The Economics of Drug Abuse: a Quantitative Assessment of Drug Demand
Molecular Interventions, 2005
B ehavioral economic concepts have proven useful for an overall understanding of the regulation of behavior by environmental commodities and complements a pharmacological perspective on drug abuse in several ways. First, a quantitative assessment of drug demand, equated in terms of drug potency, allows meaningful comparisons to be made among drug reinforcers within and across pharmacological classes. Second, behavioral economics provides a conceptual framework for understanding key factors, both pharmacological and environmental, that contribute to reductions in consumption of illicit drugs. Finally, behavioral economics provides a basis for generalization from laboratory and clinical studies to the development of novel behavioral and pharmacological therapies.
Behavioral and economic perspectives in drug abuse research
Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 2007
We are pleased to introduce this supplemental issue of Drug and Alcohol Dependence entitled Behavioral and Economic Perspectives in Drug Abuse Research, which resulted from a workshop on this topic developed by the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse. Three divisions within the Institute 1 developed this meeting to facilitate an interdisciplinary dialogue regarding the conceptual and methodological issues involved in analyzing drug markets. We believed the field would be enriched by a sharing of perspectives, challenges and solutions among behavioral, sociological, and economic researchers. We found that broad inclusion of many disciplines, including cognitive and consumer psychology, neuroscience and epidemiology, provided invaluable insight into the dynamics of street-level drug markets. The meeting also served the goals of the National Institutes of Health Roadmap Initiative which mandates a speedy translation of research results to practice. As such, this supplement seeks to highlight the importance of understanding and promoting integrated approaches to research, elucidating the interactions between individuals and environments that contribute to the continuum of problems related to drug abuse, and developing scientific knowledge with clear application to practice and public policy.
Illicit drug markets and economic irregularities
Socio-economic Planning Sciences, 2006
Markets for illicit drugs present an interesting case study for economics, combining non-standard characteristics such as addiction and product illegality. One response has been to argue the generality of economic principles by suggesting that they apply even in the extreme case of markets for addictive substances, e.g., by showing that demand for illicit goods is responsive to price [1] [Reframing health behavior change with behavioral economics. Hillsdale, NJ:Lawrence Earlbaum Associates; 2000. p. 89–111.] and even by modeling addiction as rational [2] [J Political Econ 1988;96:675–700]. This paper sketches examples of an alternative reaction, focusing on idiosyncrasies of drug markets that might plausibly create counter-intuitive effects, including supply curves that slope downward because of enforcement swamping and/or a good serving as the only available store of wealth for its producer, demand reduction programs that increase demand, and consumption by “jugglers” possibly incr...
An Economic Argument for Drug Legalization
Drug-related violence and corruption demonstrate that the U.S. War on Drugs is a serious problem. Young people are enticed into the illicit drug markets because of the policy-induced, artificially high drug prices. A review of the literature on the relationship between drugs and violence is presented. Economic theory and systems engineering are applied to drug policy, demonstrating that confiscation does not restrict supply but actually strengthens drug cartels. Conclusions are drawn from research and arguments.
Economic Models in the Context of Heroin Substitution Programs
Despite widespread disapproval of harm reduction strategies, and heroin substitution programs in particular, evidence from the Vancouver and Swiss trials both indicate that these public health measures are positively correlated with a decrease in the incidence of drug use and high treatment retention rates, as well as a reduction in crime and an increase in employment rates. This paper examines the predictions of two widely accepted economic theories in the context of these harm reduction programs: the rational choice theory and the behavioural economic theory and explains how neither economic model can account for the empirical findings of the heroin substitution trials on its own. Rather, the observed trends are more thoroughly explained through a consideration of both rational choice theory and behavioural economic theory. While predictions of the rational choice theory are consistent with empirical findings that peripheral societal costs associated with illicit drug use generally decrease in response to heroin substitution programs, it fails to account for other trends associated with illicit drug use. Behavioural economics thus helps to explain the other empirical data that have emerged from studies of heroin substitution programs. Therefore, a complete economics theory of addiction requires some acknowledgment that both of these theories of economics are valid and operate together.
Economics of youth drug use, addiction and gateway effects
Addiction, 2001
The use of illicit drugs by American youth rose dramatically during the 1990s. Reducing these trends is an important policy objective. However, for policies to be effective it is important to understand the key causal links that lead to substance use and abuse. Policy makers must understand whether attempts to reduce the demand for one drug have impacts on the current and future use of other drugs. This paper overviews an economic approach to modeling drug use, addiction and gateway effects, emphasizing the potential of this method for identifying causal links in consumption. The paper demonstrates how this multi-substance theory of drug use leads to empirical speci cations that can identify the impact of consumption of one drug on the contemporaneous and future consumption of other drugs. This is followed by a discussion of what types of data would be needed to estimate these effects.
Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, 2005
This article presents the proceedings of a symposium held at the meeting of the International Society for Biomedical Research on Alcoholism (ISBRA) in Mannheim, Germany, in October 2004. The symposium covered some crucial of the manifold aspects in the field of health economic research of alcoholism, for example, results of cost of treatment studies, evolution of health economic research in past years, methodological problems of cost-effectiveness studies, and the effects of tax or price policies for alcohol consumption and the increase of alcohol-related problems. Studies from the United States, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and Germany were presented, underlining that even in these highly industrialized countries, health economic research is far from providing the essential evidence needed for adequate service planning or effective cost containment strategies in the field of alcoholism or addiction in general.