US drug policy has a long history of providing revenue for federal, state, and local governments. Before the War on Drugs, opium and cocaine were legal and medical professionals who prescribed these substances had to pay extra taxes to do so. This chapter explains how, as the federal government...

pt. I. Theoretical and empirical developments : Becker, Ehrlich. and beyond -- pt. II. Economic analysis of the public production of criminal justice -- pt. III. Crime and the economy -- pt. IV. Controversies and debates in the economics-of-crime literature.

"Alcohol-related traffic accidents are externalities, not because of drinking, but because of relatively free access to public roads. Access limits are Coasian (property-rights) policies, but more effective limits will arise if road owners are liable for failing to provide safe roads. This can...