Chandra Siddharth, Doshi Gaurav
Asian Studies Center and James Madison College, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA.
School of Economics, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
Health Econ. 2025 May;34(5):827-854. doi: 10.1002/hec.4938. Epub 2025 Jan 17.
Understanding the behavior of populations of drug consumers has been and remains a topic of keen interest. Using a unique dataset on 25 districts from Bengal, India, from 1911 to 1925, we analyze whether populations of consumers treat alcohol, cannabis, and opium as economic substitutes or complements in a legal regime. Additionally, we examine responsiveness to prices and income. Our analysis has three main findings. First, we find evidence of substitution between alcohol and cannabis bud. Second, cannabis leaf is a complement for alcohol but a substitute for cannabis bud. Third, we find negative income elasticity for alcohol, cannabis bud, and opium consumption. These findings on the link between consumption patterns and economic factors can guide harm reduction strategies.
了解吸毒人群的行为一直是且仍然是一个备受关注的话题。利用1911年至1925年印度孟加拉邦25个地区的独特数据集，我们分析了在合法制度下，消费者群体是否将酒精、大麻和鸦片视为经济替代品或互补品。此外，我们还研究了对价格和收入的反应。我们的分析有三个主要发现。第一，我们发现酒精和大麻芽之间存在替代关系的证据。第二，大麻叶是酒精的互补品，但却是大麻芽的替代品。第三，我们发现酒精、大麻芽和鸦片消费的收入弹性为负。这些关于消费模式与经济因素之间联系的发现可以指导减少危害战略。
