Illicit drug use and labour market achievement: evidence from the UK

This study, using data from the British Crime Survey (BCS), examines the ef fect of drug use on occupational achievement. It starts by attempting to ov ercome the identification problem that results from the limited set of drug use questions presented in the BCS. Taking this into account, and allowing for the endogeneity of drug use in equations for unemployment and labour m arket outcomes, that a mild positive association with 'soft' drugs and occu pational achievement is observed that diminishes with age. This relationshi p holds for males but not for females. In contrast, it is also found that p ast use of 'hard' drugs significantly increases the likelihood of current u nemployment, although it appears to be unrelated to occupational success, c onditional on achieving employment.