The Economics of Prohibition
Economics of Prohibition was written by Mark Thornton and published by the University of Utah Press in 1991. The Economics of Prohibition, was praised by Murray Rothbard, who declared: "Thornton's book... arrives to fill an enormous gap, and it does so splendidly.... The drug prohibition question is... the hottest political topic today, and for the foreseeable future.... This is an excellent work making an important contribution to scholarship as well as to the public policy debate." Bruce Benson declared the book to be "a very insightful work that makes what I am sure will be recognized as significant contributions to the economics literature on crime, policy analysis, and illicit drugs."
Contents
Foreword by Doug Bandow vii
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 3
1. ECONOMISTS AND PROHIBITION 9
The Origins of the "Economics" of Prohibition 11
In Defense of Prohibition 15
Prohibition's Blue Monday 23
The Economics of Heroin Prohibition 29
The Economics of Addiction 35
2. THE ORIGINS OF PROHIBITION 39
The Prohibition of Alcohol 40
National Narcotics Prohibition 56
National Marijuana Prohibition 65
3. A THEORY OF PROHIBITION 71
The Basic Analytics of Prohibition 73
The Political Economy of Prohibition 84
4. THE POTENCY OF ILLEGAL DRUGS 89
The Economics of Potency 92
Prohibition as a Tax 93
The Impact of Prohibition on Potency 95
Potency in Prohibited Markets 99
Alcohol Prohibition 100
The Prohibition of Marijuana: A Simple Test 105
Beyond Cannabis 108
VI
5. THE CORRUPTING EFFECTS OF PROHIBITION 111
Crime 113
Corruption 126
6. THE REPEAL OF PROHIBITION 139 Is Effective Prohibition Possible? 142
Alternative Policy Regimes 146
The Free-Market Solution 149
The Extended Free-Market Solution 151
References 155
Index 167
FIGURES
1. Prohibition's Impact on the Consumer and Producer 74
2. The Traditional Approach for Determining the Optimal Level of Prohibition Enforcement 76
3. The Process of Progressive Interventionism (and exit) 84
4. Effect of Improved Technology for High-Potency Drug Production 92
5. Federal Budget for Enforcement of Drug Laws, 1973-1984 106
6. Average Potency of Marijuana, 1973-1984 108
7. The Impact of Prohibition on the Consumption of Heroin 118
8. Prohibition's Impact on the Heroin Addict's Budget Constraint 118
9. Prohibition's Impact on (addict-related) Criminal Activity 119
10. Federal Convictions of Public Officials, 1970-1988 128
TABLES
1. Absenteeism Rates in a Delaware Gunpowder Plant 26
2. Average Annual Percentage-Point Decline in Absenteeism in a Delaware Gunpowder Plant 29
3. Shipping the Good Apples to New York 94
4. Federal Expenditures upon the Enforcement of Prohibition 100
5. Fisher's "Alcohol Price Index," 1916-1928 102
6. The Effect of Prohibition on Alcohol Expenditures 103
7. Per Capita Consumption of Alcoholic Beverages in Gallons,1840-1919 104