ADDICTION, COMPULSION, AND THE TECHNOLOGY OF CONSUMPTION

The consumption technology model of Lancaster and Becker is extended to include addictive activities. Assuming a utility function in which the individual places a premium on maintenance of self-esteem, the model generates empirically verified patterns of habituation, withdrawal, and the compulsive restarting of an abandoned habit. It is then applied to the analysis of public policies toward drug abuse. Their frequent ineffectiveness is shown to result from an unwarranted emphasis on deterring the addictive activity rather than on encouraging atceptable behavior.