Inferring Cocaine Flows across Europe: Evidence from Price Data

Abstract

Price data for cocaine in Europe reported in the World Drug Report of 2010 are analyzed with the aim of inferring patterns of transnational cocaine flows across the continent. The concepts of market integration and price gradients are combined to identify the existence and directionality of flows, on the basis of which a geographic characterization of the movement of cocaine is constructed. The findings are broadly consistent with anecdotal data on cocaine flows reported in the World Drug Report. The methodology is, therefore, a simple and promising methodology that can supplement existing efforts by researchers and policy-makers to identify trouble spots with a view to managing the growing cocaine problem in Europe and drug problems in general.