Publication Date
June 2006
Recommended Citation
Levy, Amnon and Faria, J. R., Depression and Substance Abuse: A Rationalization of a Vicious Cycle, Department of Economics, University of Wollongong, 2006.
https://ro.uow.edu.au/commwkpapers/152
Abstract
While a mind-altering-substance consumption alleviates current level of depression, it facilitates future depression. Our analysis incorporates this trade off and shows that the stationary state of a consistently overly ambitious sophisticated substance user is improved by impatience, and that this improvement is amplified by the ratio of the instantaneous depression-relief effect to the state-degradation effect of the substance. The analysis also shows that the existence of a supportive personal community leads to permanent cyclical substance consumption when the user is relatively patient.
Publication Details
Levy, A and Faria, JR, Depression and Substance Abuse: A Rationalization of a Vicious Cycle, Working Paper 06-16, Department of Economics, University of Wollongong, 2006.