Response to the National Research Council's Assessment of RAND's Controlling Cocaine Study

Response to the National Research Council's Assessment of RAND's Controlling Cocaine Study PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
A 1994 RAND study, Controlling Cocaine: Supply Versus Demand Programs (Rydell and Everingham), drew widely cited conclusions regarding the relative cost-effectiveness of spending additional drug control moneys on treatment and various modes of enforcement. A National Research Council (NRC) committee last year issued a critique of that report concluding that it was not a good basis for policymaking. Modeling is an inexact science, and there is plenty of room for experts to disagree on methods and conclusions. We feel, however, that the NRC's critique warrants a reply, for two reasons. First, it appears to rest on incomplete information regarding the RAND model. Our differences with the assessment are thus not simply a matter of varying judgment or opinion. Second, the critique was issued by a distinguished panel at the request of the Office of National Drug Control Policy. Barring objection, we fear that many in the drug policy community may tend to accept the conclusions of the panel as the last word on this topic.

Response to the National Research Council's Assessment of RAND's Controlling Cocaine Study

Response to the National Research Council's Assessment of RAND's Controlling Cocaine Study PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
A 1994 RAND study, Controlling Cocaine: Supply Versus Demand Programs (Rydell and Everingham), drew widely cited conclusions regarding the relative cost-effectiveness of spending additional drug control moneys on treatment and various modes of enforcement. A National Research Council (NRC) committee last year issued a critique of that report concluding that it was not a good basis for policymaking. Modeling is an inexact science, and there is plenty of room for experts to disagree on methods and conclusions. We feel, however, that the NRC's critique warrants a reply, for two reasons. First, it appears to rest on incomplete information regarding the RAND model. Our differences with the assessment are thus not simply a matter of varying judgment or opinion. Second, the critique was issued by a distinguished panel at the request of the Office of National Drug Control Policy. Barring objection, we fear that many in the drug policy community may tend to accept the conclusions of the panel as the last word on this topic.

Assessment of Two Cost-Effectiveness Studies on Cocaine Control Policy

Assessment of Two Cost-Effectiveness Studies on Cocaine Control Policy PDF Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309064775
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 65

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Book Description
This study is an important first step in the development of a national policy on illegal drugs. It assesses two recent cost-effectiveness studies on cocaine control policy: one by RAND, Controlling Cocaine: Supply Versus Demand Programs, and the other by the Institute of Defense Analyses, An Empirical Examination of Counterdrug Interdiction Program Effectiveness.

Drug Policy and the Public Good

Drug Policy and the Public Good PDF Author:
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0199557128
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 351

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Book Description
Drug Policy and the Public Good is a book by an international group of addiction scientists, to improve the links between addiction science and drug policy. It presents the accumulated scientific knowledge on drug use research that has a direct relevance to the development of drug policy at local, national and international levels.

Choice, Behavioural Economics and Addiction

Choice, Behavioural Economics and Addiction PDF Author: Nick Heather
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 0080501109
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 459

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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.

Investing in the Disadvantaged

Investing in the Disadvantaged PDF Author: David L. Weimer
Publisher: Georgetown University Press
ISBN: 1589015991
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 305

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Book Description
With budgets squeezed at every level of government, cost-benefit analysis (CBA) holds outstanding potential for assessing the efficiency of many programs. In this first book to address the application of CBA to social policy, experts examine ten of the most important policy domains: early childhood development, elementary and secondary schools, health care for the disadvantaged, mental illness, substance abuse and addiction, juvenile crime, prisoner reentry programs, housing assistance, work-incentive programs for the unemployed and employers, and welfare-to-work interventions. Each contributor discusses the applicability of CBA to actual programs, describing both proven and promising examples. The editors provide an introduction to cost-benefit analysis, assess the programs described, and propose a research agenda for promoting its more widespread application in social policy. Investing in the Disadvantaged considers how to face America’s most urgent social needs with shrinking resources, showing how CBA can be used to inform policy choices that produce social value.

Dynamic Perspectives on Managerial Decision Making

Dynamic Perspectives on Managerial Decision Making PDF Author: Herbert Dawid
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319391208
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 518

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Book Description
This volume collects research papers addressing topical issues in economics and management with a particular focus on dynamic models which allow to analyze and foster the decision making of firms in dynamic complex environments. The scope of the contributions ranges from daily operational challenges firms face to strategic choices in dynamic industry environments and the analysis of optimal growth paths. The volume also highlights recent methodological developments in the areas of dynamic optimization, dynamic games and meta-heuristics, which help to improve our understanding of (optimal) decision making in a fast evolving economy.

Controlling Crime

Controlling Crime PDF Author: Philip J. Cook
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226115135
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 636

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Book Description
Criminal justice expenditures have more than doubled since the 1980s, dramatically increasing costs to the public. With state and local revenue shortfalls resulting from the recent recession, the question of whether crime control can be accomplished either with fewer resources or by investing those resources in areas other than the criminal justice system is all the more relevant. Controlling Crime considers alternative ways to reduce crime that do not sacrifice public safety. Among the topics considered here are criminal justice system reform, social policy, and government policies affecting alcohol abuse, drugs, and private crime prevention. Particular attention is paid to the respective roles of both the private sector and government agencies. Through a broad conceptual framework and a careful review of the relevant literature, this volume provides insight into the important trends and patterns of some of the interventions that may be effective in reducing crime.

Searching for Science Policy (Clt)

Searching for Science Policy (Clt) PDF Author: Jonathan B. Imber
Publisher: Transaction Publishers
ISBN: 9781412833813
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 146

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Book Description
The findings of scientific research often provide an important baseline to the formation of public policy. However, effective communication to the larger public about what scientists do and know is a problem inherent to all democratic societies. It is the prerogative of democratic societies to determine what kind of scientific research will be funded. Searching for Science Policy offers innovative ways of thinking about how the rhetoric and practice of science operates in various institutional contexts. The book is divided into two parts. Part 1, "Policy Uses and Misuses of Science," explores the various ways in which scientific claims are inevitably mediated by how they are used. Joel Best, draws on statistics involving missing children, violence against women, and attendance figures at political demonstrations to demonstrate how the motivations to use inaccurate and misleading numbers stems directly from the ideological and organizational interests of those using them. Judith Kleinfeld analyzes recruitment policies for women scientists at MIT, showing how hiring practices that may be justifiable on extra-scientific factors are carried out based on pseudo-scientific studies not subject to public scrutiny. Robert MacCoun addresses the journalistic misuse of drug and drug abuse statistics and shows how this profoundly distorts policy implications drawn from them. And Allan Mazur examines the role scientific evidence has come to play in the law, pointing out the pitfalls of its intrinsic quality and how such evidence may be interpreted or misinterpreted by judges and juries. Part 2, "Searching for Science Policy," extends discussion of the role of science to specific ideas about how public policy-making might be improved in matters of law, family, environment, drug use, and health. Mark Kleiman weighs the sometimes conflicting claims of science and social order in formulating drug policy. Norval Glenn calls for closer cooperation between professional associations, the media, and researchers in reporting provisional social science findings to the public. Stanley Rothman and S. Robert Lichter examine the dynamic by which environmental organizations shape public perceptions of risk and harm. And in the concluding chapter, Sheila Jasanoff looks closely at differences between the provisional nature of science as normally practiced and the more contentious sphere of litigation that demands ultimate resolution. In a time when scientists find themselves subject to more public scrutiny than ever before, the well-informed citizen is no longer a moral ideal but rather a social imperative. Searching for Science Policy helps to clarify the grounds and the circumstances of more effective use of science in public discourse. Jonathan B. Imber is editor in chief of Society and Class of 1949 Professor in Ethics and professor of sociology at Wellesley College.

Searching for Science Policy

Searching for Science Policy PDF Author: Jonathan B. Imber
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351324144
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 110

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Book Description
The findings of scientific research often provide an important baseline to the formation of public policy. However, effective communication to the larger public about what scientists do and know is a problem inherent to all democratic societies. It is the prerogative of democratic societies to determine what kind of scientific research will be funded. Searching for Science Policy offers innovative ways of thinking about how the rhetoric and practice of science operates in various institutional contexts. The book is divided into two parts. Part 1, "Policy Uses and Misuses of Science," explores the various ways in which scientific claims are inevitably mediated by how they are used. Joel Best, draws on statistics involving missing children, violence against women, and attendance figures at political demonstrations to demonstrate how the motivations to use inaccurate and misleading numbers stems directly from the ideological and organizational interests of those using them. Judith Kleinfeld analyzes recruitment policies for women scientists at MIT, showing how hiring practices that may be justifiable on extra-scientific factors are carried out based on pseudo-scientific studies not subject to public scrutiny. Robert MacCoun addresses the journalistic misuse of drug and drug abuse statistics and shows how this profoundly distorts policy implications drawn from them. And Allan Mazur examines the role scientific evidence has come to play in the law, pointing out the pitfalls of its intrinsic quality and how such evidence may be interpreted or misinterpreted by judges and juries. Part 2, "Searching for Science Policy," extends discussion of the role of science to specific ideas about how public policy-making might be improved in matters of law, family, environment, drug use, and health. Mark Kleiman weighs the sometimes conflicting claims of science and social order in formulating drug policy. Norval Glenn calls for closer cooperation between professional associations, the media, and researchers in reporting provisional social science findings to the public. Stanley Rothman and S. Robert Lichter examine the dynamic by which environmental organizations shape public perceptions of risk and harm. And in the concluding chapter, Sheila Jasanoff looks closely at differences between the provisional nature of science as normally practiced and the more contentious sphere of litigation that demands ultimate resolution. In a time when scientists find themselves subject to more public scrutiny than ever before, the well-informed citizen is no longer a moral ideal but rather a social imperative. Searching for Science Policy helps to clarify the grounds and the circumstances of more effective use of science in public discourse.

Selected Rand Abstracts

Selected Rand Abstracts PDF Author: Rand Corporation
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Abstracts
Languages : en
Pages : 312

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Book Description
Includes Reports (R-series), Rand Memorandums (RM-series), papers (P-series), and Books.