The Economics of Prohibition

The 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
 * 1) THE ORIGINS OF PROHIBITION 39
 * The Prohibition of Alcohol 40
 * National Narcotics Prohibition 56
 * National Marijuana Prohibition 65
 * 1) A THEORY OF PROHIBITION 71
 * The Basic Analytics of Prohibition 73
 * The Political Economy of Prohibition 84
 * 1) 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
 * 1) THE CORRUPTING EFFECTS OF PROHIBITION 111
 * Crime 113
 * Corruption 126
 * 1) 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

Reviews
Southern Economic Journal; January 1993 "'Professor Mark Thornton is one of a growing number of outstanding young economists who have helped to revive and to enhance the credibility of the Austrian School of Economics. In this excellent study, economic methodology is carefully married with moral and social philosophy to provide valuable insights into the divergence of intentions and results of prohibition laws. In fact, his approach to the thorny issue of prohibition may perhaps help to restore the credibility of economists at large as interpreters of public policy.'"

Links

 * Full text PDF of The Economics of Prohibition