Dr. Angela Dills, who is the Gimelstob-Landry Distinguished Professor of Regional Economic Development at Western Carolina University, will present “The Costs and Benefits of Drug Prohibition” on Monday, Feb. 22, at 7 p.m. through a live-streamed event hosted by the Markets & Morality student organization at Hope College.
The public is invited. Admission is free, although advance registration is required. Registration information is available at the event’s listing at calendar.hope.edu. Out of an abundance of caution due to the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic, there will be no in-person audience.
As explained in the presentation’s description, the U.S. has responded to the significant personal and community harms of illicit drug use by prohibiting drugs and fighting the War on Drugs for half a century. Dills’ prepared remarks will summarize the economic research that shows whether or not the War on Drugs is achieving its aims, and at what cost. A question-and-answer period will follow.
Dills specializes in the economics of education, crime and health, with research focusing on policy issues such as school choice, accountability, peer effects, college quality, and alcohol and drug prohibition. She earned her B.A. from the University of Virginia and an M.A. and Ph.D. from Boston University.
The Markets & Morality student organization aims to support and celebrate freedom of expression in the context of the liberal arts by hosting speakers and films on topics spanning the economic, political and cultural aspects of human civilization, with a special concern for human flourishing as understood in Christian perspective. The Feb. 22 event is co-sponsored by the college’s Department of Political Science.