H. O. Melberg: Conceptual problems with studies of the social cost of alcohol and drug use
Existing studies of the social cost of substance abuse give very different answers. Part of the reason for the differences is that the contributions differ in their definition of costs and the types of costs that are included or excluded from the study. Closer attention to the concept of cost employed in these studies also reveals some weaknesses with many of the existing studies. The policy relevant concept of cost necessarily implies a comparison between all realistically expected consequences (both positive and negative) of two policy alternatives and many cost studies do not use the concept of cost in this way. Finally, it is argued that cost estimates in this area cannot be neutral or scientific because the results depend on our views on when a choice can be characterized as voluntary and rational, how we deal with the problem of inconsistent preferences, and which preferences we consider to be legitimate. Since there is no agreed consensus on these issues, the cost estimate necessarily becomes subjective.
AinslieG. (1992): Picoeconomics.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2.
AtkinsonA. B., & MeadeT.W. (1974): Methods and preliminary findings in assessing the economic and health consequences of smoking with particular reference to lung cancer. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society (Series A)137: 297–312
3.
BuchananJ.M. (1969): Cost and Choice. An Inquiry in Economic Theory.Chicago: Markham Publishing Company
4.
CoaseR.H. (1960): The problem of social cost. Journal of Law and Economics3: 1–44
5.
CollinsD. J., & LapsleyH.M. (1991): Estimating the Economic costs of drug abuse in Australia, Canberra: National Campaign againt Drug abuse
6.
CowenT. (1993): The Scope and limits of preference sovereignty. Economics and Philosophy9: 253–269
7.
CulyerA., & EatonG., & GodfreyC., & KoutsolioutsosH., & McDougallC. (2002): Economics & Social cost of substance misuse in the United Kingdom: Review of the methodological and empirical studies of the economic and social costs of illicit drugs, University of York, Centre for Criminal Justice, Economics, and Psychology, York
8.
DowdingK. (2002): Revealed preference and external reference. Rationality and Society14 (3): 259–284
9.
Ellemann-JensenP. (1991): The Sosial cost of smoking revisited. British Journal of Addiction86: 957–966
10.
ElsterJ. (1986): The Multiple self, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
11.
ElsterJ. (1999): Strong feelings: emotion, addiction, and human behavior, Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press
12.
FisherI. (1927): Prohibition at its worst, New York: Alcohol Information Committee
13.
FogelR.W. (1964): Railroads and American economic growth: essays in econometric history, Baltimore, Johns Hopkins Press
14.
FogelR. W., & EngermanS.L. (1974): Time on the cross; the economics of American Negro slavery.1st ed., Boston, Little Brown
15.
GodfreyC., & EatonG., & McDougallC., & CulyerA. (2002): The Economic and social costs of Class A drug use in England and Wales. Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate
16.
GoodinR.E. (1986): Laundering Preferences. In: ElsterJ., & HyllandA. (eds.): Foundations of Social Choice Theory.Cambridge, Cambridge University Press
17.
GrossmanM., & SindelarJ., & MullahyJ., & AndersonR. (1993): Policy Watch: Alcohol and Cigarette Taxes. The Journal of Economic Perspectives7(4): 211–222
18.
HarwoodH. (1999): Cost estimates for alcohol and drug abuse. Addiction94(5): 631–647
19.
HausmannD. (2000): Revealed Preference, Belief, and Game Theory. Economics and Philosophy16: 99–115
20.
HealeyA., & KnappM., & AstinJ., & GossopM., & MarsdenJ., & StewartD., & LehmannP., & GodfreyC. (1998): Economic burden of drug dependency. British Journal of Psychiatry173: 160–165
21.
HusakD. (1989): Recreational drugs and paternalism. Law and Philosophy8: 353–381
22.
KleinmanM.A.R. (1999): Economic cost’ measurements, damage minimization and drug abuse control policy. Addiction94(5): 638–641
23.
KoppP., & FenoglioP. (2001): Calculating the social cost of illicit drugs: Council of Europe Publishing
24.
ListJ. A., & ShogrenJ.F. (1998): The dead-weight loss of christmas: Comment. American Economic Review88(5): 1350–1355
25.
ManningW. G., & KeelerE. B., & NewhouseJ. P., & SlossE. M., & WassermanJ. (1989): The taxes of sin. Do smokers and drinker pay their way? JAMA261(11): 1604–1609
26.
MarkandyaA., & PearceD.W. (1989): The Social Costs of Tobacco Smoking. British Journal of Addiction84: 1139–1150
27.
PogueT. F., & SgontzL.G. (1989): Taxing to control Social Costs: the Case of Alcohol. The American Economic Review79(1): 235–243
28.
ReuterP. (1999): Are calculations of the economic costs of drug abuse either possible or useful?Addiction94(5): 635–638
29.
RobinsonM. B. & ScherlenR.G. (2007): Lies, damned lies, and drug war statistics : a critical analysis of claims made by the office of National Drug Control Policy, Albany: State University of New York Press
30.
RobsonL., & SingleE. (1995): Literature Review Of Studies On The Economic Costs Of Substance Abuse, A Report of The Canadian Centre On Substance Abuse, Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse, Ottawa, ON
31.
RuffleB. J., & TykocinskiO. (2000): The dead-weight loss of Christmas: Comment. American Economic Review90(1): 319–324
32.
SamuelsonP.A. (1938): A Note on the Pure Theory of Consumer's Behaviour. Economica5: 61–71
33.
SenA. (1986): Behaviour and the concept of preferences, In: ElsterJ. (ed.): Rational Choice.Cambridge, Cambridge University Press
34.
SingleE., & RobsonL., & XieX., & RehmJ. (1998): The Economic costs of alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drugs in Canada, 1992. Addiction93(7): 991–1006
35.
SingleE., & CollinsD., & EastonB., & HarwoodH., & LapsleyH., & KoppP., & WilsonE. (2003): International guidelines for estimating the costs of substance abuse, World Health Organization, Geneva
36.
SolnickS. J., & HemenwayD. (1996): The deadweight loss of Christmas: Comment. American Economic Review86(5): 1299–1305
37.
SolnickS. J., & HemenwayD. (1998): The deadweight loss of christmas: Reply. American Economic Review88(5): 1356–1357
38.
SolnickS. J., & HemenwayD. (2000): The deadweight loss of Christmas: Reply. American Economic Review90(1): 325–325
39.
StiglitzJ. E. & WalshC.E. (2002): Economics3rd ed., New York: Norton
40.
SugdenR. (2004): The opportunity criterion: Consumer sovereignty without the assumption of coherent preferences. American Economic Review94(4): 1014–1033
41.
VarianH.R. (1992): Microeconomic analysis3rd ed., New York: Norton
42.
WaldfogelJ. (1993): The Deadweight Loss of Christmas. American Economic Review83(5): 1328–1336
43.
WaldfogelJ. (1996): The deadweight loss of Christmas: Reply. American Economic Review86(5): 1306–1308
44.
WaldfogelJ. (1998): The deadweight loss of christmas: Reply. American Economic Review88(5): 1358–1359
45.
WalkerD. M., & BarnettA.H. (1999): The Social Costs of Gambling: An Economic Perspective. Journal of Gambling Studies15(3): 181–212
46.
XieX., & RehmJ., & SingleE., & RobsonL. (1999): Methodological issues and selected economic consequences of substanse abuse in Ontario. Addiction Research7(5): 417–431
47.
ÖsterbergE. (1983): Calculating the costs of Alcohol: The Scandinavian experience, In: GrantM., & PlantM. (eds.): Economics and alcohol.London, Croom Helm.
