Rational Addiction with Learning and Regret

Rational Addiction with Learning and Regret PDF Author: Athanasios Orphanides
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Compulsive behavior
Languages : en
Pages : 60

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Book Description

Rational Addiction with Learning and Regret

Rational Addiction with Learning and Regret PDF Author: Athanasios Orphanides
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Compulsive behavior
Languages : en
Pages : 60

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Book Description


Getting Hooked

Getting Hooked PDF Author: Jon Elster
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521640084
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 302

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Book Description
The essays in this volume offer a thorough discussion of the relationship between addiction and rationality. This book-length treatment of the subject includes contributions from philosophers, psychiatrists, neurobiologists, sociologists and economists. Contrary to the widespread view that addicts are subject to overpowering and compulsive urges, the authors in this volume demonstrate that addicts are capable of making choices and responding to incentives. At the same time they disagree with Gary Becker's argument that addiction is the result of rational choice. The volume offers an exposition of the neurophysiology of addiction, a critical examination of the Becker theory of rational addiction, an argument for a 'visceral theory of addiction', a discussion of compulsive gambling as a form of addiction, several discussions of George Ainslie's theory of hyperbolic discounting, analyses of social causes and policy implications, and an investigation of the problem of relapse.

Choice, Behavioral Economics, and Addiction

Choice, Behavioral Economics, and Addiction PDF Author: Rudolph Eugene Vuchinich
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 9780080440569
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 468

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Book Description
Choice, Behavioural Economics and Addiction is about the theory, data, and applied implications of choice-based models of substance use and addiction. The distinction between substance use and addiction is important, because many individuals use substances but are not also addicted to them. The behavioural economic perspective has made contributions to the analysis of both of these phenomena and, while the major focus of the book is on theories of addiction, it is necessary also to consider the behavioural economic account of substance use in order to place the theories in their proper context and provide full coverage of the contribution of behavioural economics to this field of study. The book discusses the four major theories of addiction that have been developed in the area of economic science/behavioural economics. They are: . hyperbolic discounting . melioration . relative addiction . rational addiction The main objective of the book is to popularise these ideas among addiction researchers, academics and practitioners. The specific aims are to articulate the shared and distinctive elements of these four theories, to present and discuss the latest empirical work on substance abuse and addiction that is being conducted in this area, and to articulate a range of applied implications of this body of work for clinical, public health and public policy initiatives. The book is based on an invitation-only conference entitled, Choice, Behavioural Economics and Addiction: Theory, Evidence and Applications held at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, March 30 - April 1, 2001. The conference was attended by prominent scientists and scholars, representing a range of disciplines concerned with theories of addiction and their consequences for policy and practice. The papers in the book are based on the papers given at the above conference, together with commentaries by distinguished experts and, in many cases, replies to these comments by the presenters.

The Economics of Addictive Behaviours Volume III

The Economics of Addictive Behaviours Volume III PDF Author: John Joshua
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 331959138X
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 135

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Book Description
This title offers an in-depth analysis of the causes, consequences and treatments of illicit drug abuse. The author examines the effects of existing drug policies and proposes drug use legalisation within a regulated market as a viable alternative. Joshua assesses the factors that make individuals vulnerable to drug abuse and the pathways they may follow. As well as exploring the physical and psychological effects on the individual, Joshua examines the social and economic consequences for society. He highlights the pitfalls of a purely legal approach to drug abuse, which is primarily a health matter, and questions whether special drugs courts could be used as an alternative to the present criminal justice system. This book adds to the debate on whether most drugs could be sold in a regulated market in the same way as other drugs are, such as alcohol or nicotine. This is the third title in a four volume series ‘The Economics of Addictive Behaviours’, consisting of three additional volumes on smoking, alcohol abuse and overeating.

Individual Decisions for Health

Individual Decisions for Health PDF Author: Bjorn Lindgren
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134480105
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 273

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Book Description
This book poses the important question of whether economic theory can be developed to explain why people engage in activities that are obviously a danger to their long-term health.

The Economics of Biotechnology

The Economics of Biotechnology PDF Author: James D. Gaisford
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
ISBN: 9781781959190
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 472

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Book Description
'The book does an excellent job at addressing all three levels from an efficiency and equity point of view . . . Readers with a background in biotechnology but less knowledge in economics will find it very useful, as well as economists who are interested in the key economic issues of biotechnology . . . I agree with the publisher that the addressed audience will welcome and like the book, and I can highly recommend it.' - Justus Wesseler, European Review of Agricultural Economics 'The book is an absorbing one . . . will give insight on business of biotechnology and related issues, such as ethical issues, IPR etc and to economist and market researchers with specified interest in biotechnology. This could be also useful for international policymakers/planners and economic commentators.' - Ashok Pandey, Journal of Scientific and Industrial Research The Economics of Biotechnology is a highly accessible book dealing with some of the most crucial issues to arise in this area. Special attention is paid to consumer, ethical and environmental concerns as well as questions relating to trade policy, intellectual property, who will receive the benefits, international development and the role of international institutions such as the WTO. The authors examine concerns arising from the application of biotechnology in the agri-food industrial complex, and many of the issues discussed also have implications for the medical and pharmaceutical aspects of biotechnology.

Addiction

Addiction PDF Author: Jon Elster
Publisher: Russell Sage Foundation
ISBN: 1610441826
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 331

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Book Description
Addiction focuses on the emergence, nature, and persistence of addictive behavior, as well as the efforts of addicts to overcome their condition. Do addicts act of their own free will, or are they driven by forces beyond their control? Do structured treatment programs offer more hope for recovery? What causes relapses to occur? Recent scholarship has focused attention on the voluntary aspects of addiction, particularly the role played by choice. Addiction draws upon this new research and the investigations of economists, psychiatrists, philosophers, neuropharmacologists, historians, and sociologists to offer an important new approach to our understanding of addictive behavior. The notion that addicts favor present rewards over future gains or penalties echoes throughout the chapters in Addiction. The effect of cultural values and beliefs on addicts, and on those who treat them, is also explored, particularly in chapters by Elster on alcoholism and by Acker on American heroin addicts in the 1920s and 1930s. Essays by Gardner and by Waal and Mørland discuss the neurobiological roots of addiction Among their findings are evidence that addictive drugs also have an important effect on areas of the central nervous system unrelated to euphoria or dysphoria, and that tolerance and withdrawal phenomena vary greatly from drug to drug. The plight of addicts struggling to regain control of their lives receives important consideration in Addiction. Elster, Skog, and O'Donoghue and Rabin look at self-administered therapies ranging from behavioral modifications to cognitive techniques, and discuss conditions under which various treatment strategies work. Drug-based forms of treatment are discussed by Gardner, drawing on work that suggests that parts of the population have low levels of dopamine, inducing a tendency toward sensation-seeking. There are many different explanations for the impulsive, self-destructive behavior that is addiction. By bringing the triple perspective of neurobiology, choice, and culture to bear on the phenomenon, Addiction offers a unique and valuable source of information and debate on a problem of world-wide proportions.

Handbook of Contemporary Behavioral Economics

Handbook of Contemporary Behavioral Economics PDF Author: Morris Altman
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 131746916X
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 784

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Book Description
At a time when both scholars and the public demand explanations and answers to key economic problems that conventional approaches have failed to resolve, this groundbreaking handbook of original works by leading behavioral economists offers the first comprehensive articulation of behavioral economics theory. Borrowing from the findings of psychologists, sociologists, political scientists, legal scholars, and biologists, among others, behavioral economists find that intelligent individuals often tend not to behave as effectively or efficiently in their economic decisions as long held by conventional wisdom. The manner in which individuals actually do behave critically depends on psychological, institutional, cultural, and even biological considerations. "Handbook of Contemporary Behavioral Economics" includes coverage of such critical areas as the Economic Agent, Context and Modeling, Decision Making, Experiments and Implications, Labor Issues, Household and Family Issues, Life and Death, Taxation, Ethical Investment and Tipping, and Behavioral Law and Macroeconomics. Each contribution includes an extensive bibliography.

Drugs and the Limits of Liberalism

Drugs and the Limits of Liberalism PDF Author: Pablo De Greiff
Publisher: Cornell University Press
ISBN: 1501721216
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 228

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Book Description
Society's drug problem will persist, and debates over how to solve it will continue, getting nowhere, until we define our terms. This book is an effort to do just that—to parse the legal, moral, and philosophical underpinnings for any discussion of drug policy. Does liberal political theory, with its commitment to individual freedom, offer any guidance in the matter of drugs, particularly regarding their legal status? Do the commitments that citizens of liberal democracies make—commitments to ideals such as rationality, equality, justice, and democratic forms of decision-making—have implications for drug policy? These are the questions addressed in this volume, which explores the possibilities and limitations of philosophical reflection on this pressing, practical social issue.The authors, distinguished political and legal philosophers, search out the justification of policies that manage problems of drug consumption and social disintegration, but do so in keeping with the moral and political commitments of a liberal democratic society. Their subjects range from the rationality or irrationality of drug consumption to the scope of liberty; from the proper aims of legislation to the rhetoric of the war on drugs, particularly as deployed by former "Drug Czar" William Bennett.

Addiction and Choice

Addiction and Choice PDF Author: Nick Heather
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0198727224
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 529

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Book Description
Views on addiction are often polarised - either addiction is a matter of choice, or addicts simply can't help themselves. But perhaps addiction falls between the two? This book contains views from philosophy, neuroscience, psychiatry, psychology, and the law exploring this middle ground between free choice and no choice.