Abstract
This paper surveys the range of economic issues that need to be addressed in attempting to evaluate the social costs and benefits of gambling. It considers, inter alia, the nature of private and social costs and benefits and their policy significance, the important distinction between real and pecuniary costs, the incidence of gambling costs and benefits and the sources of gambling costs and benefits. Similarities and differences between the analysis of gambling and alcohol are considered. The paper concludes with a consideration of why various estimates of the social costs of gambling have produced such divergent results.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Becker, G.S. & Murphy, K.M. (1988). A theory of rational addiction. Journal of Political Economy 96(4), 729-758.
Buck, D., Godfrey, C., Raw, M. & Sutton, M. (1995). Tobacco and Jobs. The Impact of Reducing Consumption on Employment in the UK. York: Centre for Health Economics, University of York.
Chaloupka, F.J., Tauras, J.A. & Grossman, M. (2000). The economics of addiction. In Jha, P. and Chaloupka, F.J. (Eds.) (2000), Tobacco Control in Developing Countries (pp. 107-1290). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Chaloupka, F.J. & Warner, K.E. (1999). The Economics of Smoking. New York: National Bureau of Economic Research. Working Paper Series, No. 7047.
Collins, D.J. & Lapsley, H.M. (1966). The social costs of drug abuse in Australia in 1988 and 1992. National Drug Strategy Monograph Series No. 30. Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service.
English, D.R., Holman, C.D.J. et al. (1995). The quantification of drug caused morbidity and mortality in Australia, 1995 edition. Canberra: Commonwealth Department of Human Services and Health.
Foster, S.E & Modi, D. (2000). Estimating the costs of substance abuse to State budgets. Paper presented at the Third International Symposium on the Economic and Social Costs of Substance Abuse. Banff, Alberta.
Harwood, H. & Tucker A. (1999). Economic analysis of the consequences of gambling problems among adults. In Gambling Impact and Behavior Study. Report to the National Gambling Impact Study Commission (chapter 3).
Markandya, A. & Pearce, D.W. (1989). The social costs of tobacco smoking. British Journal of Addiction 84(10), 1138-1150.
Pernanen, K. & Brochu, S. (2000). Attributable fractions for alcohol and drugs in relation to crime in Canada: conceptualization, methods and internal consistency of estimates. Paper presented at the Third International Symposium on the Economic and Social Costs of Substance Abuse. Banff, Alberta.
Productivity Commission (1999). Australia's Gambling Industries. Report No. 10. Canberra: AusInfo.
Single, E., Collins, D., Easton, B., Harwood, H., Lapsley, H., Kopp, P., and Wilson, E. (2001) International guidelines for Estimating the Costs of Substance Abuse, 2001. Ottawa: Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse.
Walker, D.M. & Barnett, A.H. (1999). The social costs of gambling: an economic perspective. Journal of Gambling Studies 15(3), 181-212.
Winston, G.C. (1980). Addiction and backsliding: a theory of compulsive consumption. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organisation 1(4), 295-324.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Collins, D., Lapsley, H. The Social Costs and Benefits of Gambling: An Introduction to the Economic Issues. J Gambl Stud 19, 123–148 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1023677214999
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1023677214999