The social cost of illegal drug consumption in Spain: identifying and quantifying its elements

Berta Rivera, Bruno Casal and Luis Currais ()

No 1503, Working Papers. Collection B: Regional and sectoral economics from Universidade de Vigo, GEN - Governance and Economics research Network

Abstract: Social and health problems arise when illegal drugs are used or abused, at great cost to individuals and society as a whole. The main objective of this work is to estimate the economic impact of illegal drug consumption in Spain from a social perspective. We conducted a cost-of-illness methodology for the year 2012. Direct costs are distinguished from indirect and intangible ones. The Human Capital approach is taken to carry out an economic assessment of productivity losses due to morbidity and premature death. The total social cost related to drug consumption was somewhere between 962 and 1,172 million euros. The minimum cost of this consumption represented 0.09% of Spain’s GDP for that year. The minimum value for health care costs related to illegal drugs, accounted for 1.1% of spending in the Spanish National Health System. A great economic burden is placed on society when illegal drugs are consumed. In this way, drug prevention and treatment programs can be assessed and health policies will be better informed.

Keywords: illegal drugs; cost-of-illness studies; human capital; addiction. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: H75 I18 I31 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 29 pages
Date: 2015-12
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-eur
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gov:wpregi:1503

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