Research and Economic Development, Office of
Date of this Version
Spring 4-12-2022
Document Type
Presentation
Citation
Cheek, Z.W. (2022, April 12). The impact of Afghan opium cultivation on the U.S. opioid epidemic. Nebraska Research Days, Lincoln, NE, United States.
Abstract
I argue here that increases in Afghan opium cultivation, the most prolific in the world, has depressed American prescription opioid and heroin prices, thereby increasing abuse risk in U.S. addict populations and increasing death rates. Utilizing a two-stage regression model with a sparse dataset from several national and international sources, I find evidence that a one percent increase in Afghan opium production is associated with a 0.122 percent increase in prescription opioid overdose deaths, and a 0.367 percent increase in heroin overdose deaths. Assessing the 2001-2002 Taliban opium ban with an identification strategy, I find that in this timeframe prescription opioids were 23.8% more expensive. Implications are discussed, and counterfactuals considered.
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Growth and Development Commons, Health Economics Commons, International Economics Commons, International Public Health Commons, Political Economy Commons
Comments
Copyright © 2022 Zachary Wahab Cheek