The economics of drugs in sport

This essay explains the approach that economists take when explaining the phenomenon of drug-taking in sport. The economic method models such drug-taking as a rational activity in which athletes respond to the existing incentives. The 'solution' to the drugs in sport problem is to alter the incentives under which athletes operate. The essay notes that there are two means for implementing such alterations. The first is via regulation, and the second is via the operation of market forces within the market for different sports. The latter modality is naturally suggested as the preferred one by the economic method. However, as the essay reports, the full analysis of this issue has not been completed, so the essay is agnostic on the matter of the optimal manner for changing the incentives under which athletes operate.