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.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AkersR. L.1994Criminological Theories: Introduction and Evaluation. Los Angeles: Roxbury Press.
2.
AkersR.L.LeeG.1996A longitudinal test of social learning theory: Adolescent smoking. Journal of Drug Issues26: 317–344.
3.
BeckerG.S.1968Crime and punishment: An economic approach. Journal of Political Economy78: 169–217.
4.
BeckerG.S.1991A Treatise on the Family. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press
5.
BeckerG.S.MulliganC. B.1997The endogenous determination of time preference. Quarterly Journal of Economics112:729–758.
6.
BeckerG. S.MurphyK. M.1988A theory of rational addiction. Journal of Political Economy96: 675–700.
7.
BensonB. L.1988Corruption in law enforcement: One consequence of ‘The Tragedy of the Commons’ arising with public allocation processes. International Review of Law and Economics8: 73–84.
8.
BensonB. L.RasmussenD. W.KimI.1998Deterrence and public policy: Trade-offs in the allocation of police resources. International Review of Law and Economics18: 77–100.
9.
BlumsteinA.1995Prisons. In Crime, eds WilsonJ. Q.PetersiliaJ., 387–420. San Francisco: Institute for Contemporary Studies.
10.
CatalanoR.F.KostermanR.HawkinsJ.D.NewcombM.D.AbbotR. D.1996Modeling the etiology of adolescent substance use: A test of the social development model. Journal of Drug Issues26: 429–457.
11.
CornwallC.TrumbullW. N., 1994Estimating the economic model of crime with panel data. Review of Economics and Statistics76: 360–366.
12.
CraneJ.1991The epidemic theory of ghettos and neighborhood effects on dropping out and teenage childbearing. American Journal of Sociology96: 1226–1259.
13.
DonovanJ.E.1996Problem behavior theory and the explanation of adolescent marijuana use. Journal of Drug Issues26: 379–404.
14.
FrankR. H.1985Choosing the Right Pond: Human Behavior and the Quest for Status. New York: Oxford University Press.
GlaeserE.L.SacredoteB.ScheinkmanJ. A.1996Crime and social interactions. Quarterly Journal of Economics111: 507–48.
17.
GreenwoodP. W.ModelK.E.RydellC. P.ChiesaJ.1996Diverting Children from a Life of Crime. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation.
18.
HaganJ.McCarthyB.1997Mean Streets: Youth Crime and Homelessness. New York: Cambridge University Press.
19.
HoffmanP.BeckJ.1984Burnout-age at release from prison and recidivism. Journal of Criminal Justice12: 617–23.
20.
KandelD. B.1996The parental and peer contexts of adolescent deviance: An algebra of interpersonal influences. Journal of Drug Issues26: 289–315.
21.
KaplanH.B.1996Empirical validation of the applicability of an integrative theory of deviant behavior to the study of drug use. Journal of Drug Issues26: 345–378.
22.
KleinD.B. ed. 1997Reputation: Studies in the Voluntary Elicitation of Good Behavior. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
23.
KrohnM.D.LizotteA. J.ThomberryT. P.SmithC.McDowellD.1996Journal of Drug Issues26: 405–428.
24.
LabouvieE.1996Maturing out of substance abuse: Selection and self-correction. Journal of Drug Issues26: 457–476.
25.
LevittS. D. n.d. Why do increasing arrest rates appear to reduce crime: Deterrence, incapacitation, or measurement error?Economic Inquiry, forthcoming.
26.
MaslowA.1954Motivation and Personality. New York: Harper and Brothers.
27.
MurphyK.M.ShleiferA.VishneyR., 1993Why is rent seeking so costly to growth?American Economic Review83: 409–414.
28.
NewcombM. D.1996Pseudomaturity among adolescents: Construct validation, sex differences, and associations in adulthood. Journal of Drug Issues26: 477–505.
29.
NorthD.C.1977Structure and performance: The task of economic history. Journal of Economic Literature16: 963–978.
30.
SahR.1991Social osmosis and patterns of crime. Journal of Political Economy99:1272–95.
31.
ShawC.McKayH., 1969Juvenile Delinquency in Urban Areas, rev. ed., Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
32.
SnowC.P.1959Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution. New York: Cambridge University Press.
