Elsevier

Drug and Alcohol Dependence

Volume 33, Issue 2, September 1993, Pages 165-172
Drug and Alcohol Dependence

Behavioral economics of drug self-administration: an introduction

https://doi.org/10.1016/0376-8716(93)90058-XGet rights and content

Abstract

Behavioral economics provides a set of concepts for the analysis of factors that control the allocation of behavioral resources among available reinforcers. Terms from micro-economics describe new phenomena previously ignored within the traditional context of behavior analysis. This article reviews these concepts as an introduction to the three papers that follow. The primary dependent measure within the behavioral economic framework is the level of consumption of available commodities as determined by the level and distribution of instrumental responding. The demand curve provides a quantitative metric for analyzing consumption under the constraint of unit price. When the reinforcer is a drug, the demand curve can be a useful tool for analyzing the level of motivation to consume the drug, its abuse liability, and for evaluating interventions, such as alternative reinforcers or medications, to reduce the motivation to consume the drug and instrumental responding to obtain it. Behavioral economics also provides a framework for formulating, testing, and refining drug abuse policy through a series of empirical steps that maximize effectiveness and minimize undesirable social consequences.

References (25)

  • S.R. Hursh

    The economics of daily consumption controlling food- and water-reinforced responding

    J. Exp. Anal. Behav.

    (1978)
  • S.R. Hursh

    Economic concepts for the analysis of behavior

    J. Exp. Anal. Behav.

    (1980)
  • Cited by (0)

    The views of the author do not purport to reflect the position of the Department of the Army or the Department of Defense (para 4-3, AR 360-5). The research described in this report was conducted in compliance with the Animal Welfare Act and other Federal statutes and regulations relating to animals and experiments involving animals and adheres to the principles stated in the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals, NIH publication 86-23, 1985 edition. Reprints may be obtained by writing to Steven R. Hursh, Director, Division of Neuropsychiatry, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Washington, D.C. 20307-5100.

    View full text