Optimal Drug Policy in Low-Income Neighborhoods
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-2016
Publication Title
Journal of Public Economic Theory
Volume
18
Issue
5
First page number:
726
Last page number:
751
Abstract
The control of drug activity currently favors supply-side policies: drug suppliers in the United States face a higher arrest rate and longer sentences than demanders. We construct a simple model of drug activity with search and entry frictions in labor and drug markets. Our calibration analysis suggests a strong “dealer replacement effect.” As a result, given a variety of community objectives, it is beneficial to lower supplier arrests and raise the demand arrest rate from current values. A 10% shift from supply-side to demand-side arrests can reduce the population of potential drug dealers by 22–25,000 and raise aggregate local income by $380–$400 million, at 2002 prices. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Language
English
Repository Citation
Chang, S. W.,
Coulson, N. E.,
Wang, P.
(2016).
Optimal Drug Policy in Low-Income Neighborhoods.
Journal of Public Economic Theory, 18(5),
726-751.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jpet.12147
