We estimate a model of demand in the UK alcohol market and numerically solve for the optimal tax rates. Moving to an optimal system that taxes alcohol types at different rates would close half of the welfare gap between the current UK system and the first best (Institute for Fiscal Studies)
Bibliography: Economics
Splitting the bill: alcohol’s impact on the economy (PDF)
Economic questions are central to the formation of alcohol policies, such as the setting of alcohol taxes, licensing requirements and marketing regulations (Institute of S Alcohol Studies)
The Economics of Tobacco and Tobacco Control
This monograph, a collaboration between the National Cancer Institute and WHO, examines the current research and evidence base surrounding the economics of tobacco control—including tobacco use, tobacco growing, manufacturing and trade, tobacco product taxes and prices, and tobacco control policies and other interventions to reduce tobacco use and its consequences (WHO)
DrugScope library archive
Wellcome Institute
Cheap alcohol: the price we pay (PDF)
Research released today shows there is an abundance of high strength alcohol sold for pocket money prices in shops and supermarkets across the UK. Press Release (Alcohol Health Alliance, UK)
Colombia: Drugs and the Peace Agreement
On August 24th, after more than four years of negotiations, the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) signed a peace agreement that will, pending a referendum on October 2nd, bring to an end more than sixty years of armed conflict (Global Drug Policy Observatory)
Internet-facilitated drugs trade
An analysis of the size, scope and the role of the Netherlands (RAND)
Changes in Europe’s cannabis resin market
This analysis describes how the supply of cannabis resin in Europe is changing in response to competition and other market developments (EMCDDA)
ACT Trends in Ecstasy and Related Drug Markets 2015
Findings from the Ecstasy and Related Drugs Reporting System (EDRS)
EMCDDA Budget 2016
The EMCDDA receives stable funding under Commission budget line B3-441 of the general budget of the European Union. Each year, a preliminary draft budget is presented by the Centre’s Director to the Management Board, which may modify the draft before adopting it and submitting it to the European Commission. The Commission, in turn, makes its recommendations (which may again alter the draft) and presents the result to the European Council and Parliament
Drug Money: the illicit proceeds of opiates trafficked on the Balkan route
This study focuses on a vital aspect of illicit drug trafficking: the huge profits that flow from this trade into the hands of criminals and their networks. South-Eastern Europe, through the so-called Balkan route, is a key pathway for the delivery of opiates from Afghanistan into Western and Central Europe (UNODC)
Potential fiscal impacts of introducing a regulated cannabis market in the UK
This note considers the potential net savings and the potential tax revenue associated with introducing a regulated cannabis market, drawing on the examples of Colorado, Washington State and Uruguay (TDPF)
Alcohol’s cost to society Vs taxpayer: politics and the £21 billion
The debate over the cost of alcohol to society – not to be confused with the cost to the taxpayer – has been reignited by a report from the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) and critical response from the Institute of Alcohol Studies (Alcohol Policy UK)
Profit from drugs inside prisons feeding crime outside, police leaders warned
Police forces have been told to face up to the “fall-out” from Britain’s burgeoning prison population as the Government sets out a bold new-for-old building programme (Police Professional)
AOD treatment spending in Australia
Alcohol and other drug treatment spending in Australia amounted to $1.2 billion in 2012/2013 (NDARC)
Blanket ban to clamp down on ‘legal highs’
Action to protect young people from the dangers of so-called ‘legal highs’ and target those who profit from their trade was announced by the UK government (Home Office)
Tackling Harmful Alcohol Use
Economics and Public Health Policy (OECD)
Historic Requests for Treatment and Prevention in President Obama’s 2016 Budget
In response to America’s drug problem, the 2016 Budget reflects the Administration’s ongoing commitment to reducing drug use and its consequences through a balanced approach rooted in science. Budget highlights (ONDCP)
Understanding the Costs and Savings to Public Services of Different Treatment Pathways for Clients Dependent on Opiates
This paper presents a summary of analysis that considered the costs and savings to public services that might be generated from those receiving treatment for opiate dependence (Department for Work and Pensions, UK)
HIV sweeps across eastern Europe amid economic crisis
HIV is spreading at a dangerous rate in nations around the Black Sea, passing a record 100,000 new cases yearly (EU Observer)
