IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/hlthec/v9y2000i7p587-598.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Interpreting the rational addiction model

Author

Listed:
  • Brian S. Ferguson

Abstract

The rational addiction (RA) model of Becker and Murphy (Becker GS, Murphy KM. A theory of rational addiction. J Pol Econ 1988; 96(4): 675–700) has rapidly become one of the standard models in the literature on addictive behaviour. This paper reviews some theoretical issues surrounding its use, and indicates areas in which caution should be used in applying this model. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Suggested Citation

  • Brian S. Ferguson, 2000. "Interpreting the rational addiction model," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 9(7), pages 587-598, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:hlthec:v:9:y:2000:i:7:p:587-598
    DOI: 10.1002/1099-1050(200010)9:7<587::AID-HEC538>3.0.CO;2-J
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/1099-1050(200010)9:73.0.CO;2-J
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/1099-1050(200010)9:7<587::AID-HEC538>3.0.CO;2-J?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Léonard,Daniel & Long,Ngo van, 1992. "Optimal Control Theory and Static Optimization in Economics," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521331586, January.
    2. Becker, Gary S & Grossman, Michael & Murphy, Kevin M, 1991. "Rational Addiction and the Effect of Price on Consumption," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 81(2), pages 237-241, May.
    3. Chaloupka, Frank, 1991. "Rational Addictive Behavior and Cigarette Smoking," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 99(4), pages 722-742, August.
    4. Becker, Gary S & Grossman, Michael & Murphy, Kevin M, 1994. "An Empirical Analysis of Cigarette Addiction," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 84(3), pages 396-418, June.
    5. Keeler, Theodore E. & Hu, Teh-Wei & Barnett, Paul G. & Manning, Williard G., 1993. "Taxation, regulation, and addiction: A demand function for cigarettes based on time-series evidence," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 12(1), pages 1-18, April.
    6. Grossman, Michael & Chaloupka, Frank J & Sirtalan, Ismail, 1998. "An Empirical Analysis of Alcohol Addiction: Results from the Monitoring the Future Panels," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 36(1), pages 39-48, January.
    7. Ippolito, Pauline M, 1981. "Information and the Life Cycle Consumption of Hazardous Goods," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 19(4), pages 529-558, October.
    8. Olekalns, Nilss & Bardsley, Peter, 1996. "Rational Addiction to Caffeine: An Analysis of Coffee Consumption," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 104(5), pages 1100-1104, October.
    9. Becker, Gary S & Murphy, Kevin M, 1988. "A Theory of Rational Addiction," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 96(4), pages 675-700, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Miguel à ngel Mendoza-González & Alberto Villagra-Piña, 2021. "Efectos de la Covid-19 y la restricción a la movilidad de las personas sobre el consumo adictivo de cigarros en México, 2005-2020," Remef - Revista Mexicana de Economía y Finanzas Nueva Época REMEF (The Mexican Journal of Economics and Finance), Instituto Mexicano de Ejecutivos de Finanzas, IMEF, vol. 16(3), pages 1-20, Julio - S.
    2. Julian Reif, 2019. "A Model Of Addiction And Social Interactions," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 57(2), pages 759-773, April.
    3. Badi H. Baltagi & Ingo Geishecker, 2006. "Rational alcohol addiction: evidence from the Russian longitudinal monitoring survey," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 15(9), pages 893-914, September.
    4. Auld, M. Christopher & Grootendorst, Paul, 2004. "An empirical analysis of milk addiction," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 23(6), pages 1117-1133, November.
    5. Henry Shelton Brown & Steve Karson, 2013. "Cigarette Quitlines, Taxes, And Other Tobacco Control Policies: A State‐Level Analysis," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 22(6), pages 741-748, June.
    6. Thomas Demuynck & Ewout Verriest, 2013. "I’Ll Never Forget My First Cigarette: A Revealed Preference Analysis Of The “Habits As Durables” Model," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 54(2), pages 717-738, May.
    7. Kristian Bolin & Michael R. Caputo, 2024. "Specification of the health production function and its behavioral implications," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(11), pages 2671-2684, November.
    8. Yaniv, Gideon, 2011. "Workaholism and marital estrangement: A rational-choice perspective," Mathematical Social Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 61(2), pages 104-108, March.
    9. Laporte, Audrey & Dass, Adrian Rohit & Ferguson, Brian S., 2017. "Is the Rational Addiction model inherently impossible to estimate?," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 161-175.
    10. Ole Rogeberg, 2003. "Preferences, Rationality and Welfare in Becker's Extended Utility Approach," Rationality and Society, , vol. 15(3), pages 283-323, August.
    11. Jon P. Nelson, 2010. "What is Learned from Longitudinal Studies of Advertising and Youth Drinking and Smoking? A Critical Assessment," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 7(3), pages 1-57, March.
    12. Reiner Hanewinkel & Christian Radden & Tobias Rosenkranz, 2008. "Price increase causes fewer sales of factory‐made cigarettes and higher sales of cheaper loose tobacco in Germany," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 17(6), pages 683-693, June.
    13. Yaniv, Gideon, 2008. "Obsessive-compulsive disorder and behavioral therapy: A rational-choice perspective," Mathematical Social Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 55(3), pages 405-415, May.
    14. Brosio, Giorgio & Zanola, Roberto, 2006. "Can violence be rational? An empirical analysis of Colombia," POLIS Working Papers 74, Institute of Public Policy and Public Choice - POLIS.
    15. Badi H. Baltagi & James M. Griffin, 2002. "Rational addiction to alcohol: panel data analysis of liquor consumption," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 11(6), pages 485-491, September.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Silvia Tiezzi, 2005. "An empirical analysis of tobacco addiction in Italy," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 6(3), pages 233-243, September.
    2. Jones, A. M. & Laporte, A. & Rice, N. & Zucchelli, E., 2014. "A synthesis of the Grossman and Becker-Murphy models of health and addiction: theoretical and empirical implications," Health, Econometrics and Data Group (HEDG) Working Papers 14/07, HEDG, c/o Department of Economics, University of York.
    3. Donald S. Kenkel & Ping Wang, 1999. "Are Alcoholics in Bad Jobs?," NBER Chapters, in: The Economic Analysis of Substance Use and Abuse: An Integration of Econometric and Behavioral Economic Research, pages 251-278, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Timothy J. Richards & Paul M. Patterson & Abebayehu Tegene, 2007. "Obesity And Nutrient Consumption: A Rational Addiction?," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 25(3), pages 309-324, July.
    5. Andrew M. Jones & Audrey Laporte & Nigel Rice & Eugenio Zucchelli, 2019. "Dynamic panel data estimation of an integrated Grossman and Becker–Murphy model of health and addiction," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 56(2), pages 703-733, February.
    6. Ziggy MacDonald, 2004. "What Price Drug Use? The Contribution of Economics to an Evidence‐Based Drugs Policy," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(2), pages 113-152, April.
    7. Laporte, Audrey & Dass, Adrian Rohit & Ferguson, Brian S., 2017. "Is the Rational Addiction model inherently impossible to estimate?," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 161-175.
    8. Silvia Tiezzi, 2003. "Addiction and Smoking Behaviour in Italy," Department of Economics University of Siena 412, Department of Economics, University of Siena.
    9. Eugenio Martínez & Raúl Mejía & Eliseo Pérez Stable, 2008. "Elasticity of cigarette demand in Argentina: An empirical analysis using vector error-correction model," Working Papers 1, Instituto de Estudios Laborales y del Desarrollo Económico (IELDE) - Universidad Nacional de Salta - Facultad de Ciencias Económicas, Jurídicas y Sociales.
    10. Grossman, Michael & Chaloupka, Frank J., 1998. "The demand for cocaine by young adults: a rational addiction approach," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(4), pages 427-474, August.
    11. Zaifu Yang & Rong Zhang, 2022. "A Stochastic Model of Rational Addiction," Annals of Economics and Finance, Society for AEF, vol. 23(2), pages 223-251, November.
    12. Anne Bretteville-Jensen, 2006. "Drug Demand – Initiation, Continuation and Quitting," De Economist, Springer, vol. 154(4), pages 491-516, December.
    13. Xiaoou, Liu, 2009. "Rational Addiction Evidence From Carbonated Soft Drinks," 2009 Conference, August 16-22, 2009, Beijing, China 51620, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    14. Jeffrey K. Sarbaum & Solomon W. Polachek & Norman E. Spear, 1999. "The Effects of Price Changes on Alcohol Consumption in Alcohol-Experienced Rats," NBER Chapters, in: The Economic Analysis of Substance Use and Abuse: An Integration of Econometric and Behavioral Economic Research, pages 75-102, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    15. Jonathan Gruber & Botond Köszegi, 2001. "Is Addiction "Rational"? Theory and Evidence," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 116(4), pages 1261-1303.
    16. Levy-Livermore, A., 1998. "Life-Expectancy Augmented Rational Addition: A Note," Economics Working Papers wp98-01, School of Economics, University of Wollongong, NSW, Australia.
    17. Levy, Amnon, 2003. "A Theory of LTR Junk-food Consumption," Economics Working Papers wp03-06, School of Economics, University of Wollongong, NSW, Australia.
    18. Kaili Shen & David Giles, 2006. "Rational exuberance at the mall: addiction to carrying a credit card balance," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 38(5), pages 587-592.
    19. Richards, Timothy J. & Hamilton, Stephen F., 2012. "Obesity and Hyperbolic Discounting: An Experimental Analysis," Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Western Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 37(2), pages 1-18, August.
    20. Badi H. Baltagi & Ingo Geishecker, 2006. "Rational alcohol addiction: evidence from the Russian longitudinal monitoring survey," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 15(9), pages 893-914, September.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wly:hlthec:v:9:y:2000:i:7:p:587-598. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/jhome/5749 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.