Addiction as Extreme-Seeking

Thomas A Barthold and Harold M Hochman

Economic Inquiry, 1988, vol. 26, issue 1, 89-106

Abstract: This paper examines addictive and compulsive behavior within a new framework in an effort to establish a stronger link to t he psychological and sociological literature on the subject. Individu als who suffer an addiction are not the classic homo economicus of te xtbooks, but are instead extreme-seekers. Concavities in indifference curves provide a simple characterization of extreme-seeking. The con sequences of consumption which is physiologically or psychologically addicting and which threatens the individual's health are modeled in terms of capital and threshold effects. The model is then used, tenta tively, to assess policies aimed at controlling substance abuse. Copyright 1988 by Oxford University Press.

Date: 1988
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