HERO Online Working Paper Series,
University of Oslo, Health Economics Research Programme

Abstract: The effects of public policies on the welfare of different groups in society are in many cases unclear. Economists often study such effects through welfare analyses based on a mathematical model of an individual decision maker. I show for the case of Rational Addiction theory that we have both theoretical and empirical reasons to think that the model fails to reflect the welfare of real people. I argue that the acceptance and standing of the theory is due to a failure to apply relevant criteria when evaluating such welfare analyses, that this failure makes the profession take absurd theories seriously, and that such welfare analyses should therefore be treated with scepticism and great care.

Keywords: Welfare Analysis; Rational Choice; Rational; Addiction; Gary Becker; Jon Elster

JEL-codes: I18

23 pages, June 14, 2009

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