West-East Convergence in the Prevalence of Illicit Drugs: Socioeconomics or Culture?

Harald Tauchmann

No 61, Ruhr Economic Papers from RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen

Abstract: In contrast to West-Germany, illicit drugs were virtually absent in East-Germany until 1990. Yet, after the collapse of the former GDR, East-Germany was expected to encounter a sharp increase in the prevalence of substance abuse. By analyzing individual data, we find that East-Germany largely caught up with West-Germany's ever-growing prevalence of illicit drugs within a single decade. We decompose the west-east difference in prevalence rates into an explained and an unexplained part using a modified Blinder-Oaxaca procedure. This decomposition suggests that the observed convergence is just weakly related to socioeconomic characteristics and therefore remains mainly unexplained. That is, West- and East-Germans seem to have become more alike per se. We conclude that both parts of the country have converged in terms of the culture of drug consumption.

Keywords: Illicit drugs; west-east convergence; decomposition (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I12 P23 P36 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2008
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Working Paper: West-East Convergence in the Prevalence of Illicit Drugs: Socioeconomics or Culture? (2008)
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