title: What's in a cost? Comparing economic and public health measures of alcohol's social costs.
abstract: Studies based on a cost of illness method frequently assert large social costs from a variety of risky activities, the harms from which most typically fall upon the risk-taker himself. Many of these costs are inadmissible in a standard economic framework; consequently, figures derived by the cost of illness method are not comparable with other economic notions of cost and are of very limited policy use.
authors.affiliation: Department of Economics, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch 8140, New Zealand. eric.crampton@canterbury.ac.nz
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Crampton
authors.forename: Matt
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Burgess
authors.forename: Brad
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Taylor
mesh_terms: D000041:Absenteeism; D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000191:economics; D019973:Alcohol-Related Disorders / Q000191:economics* / Q000453:epidemiology; D017281:Cost of Illness; D003415:Crime / Q000191:economics; D017598:Efficiency, Organizational; D017048:Health Care Costs; D006801:Humans; D009520:New Zealand