IS NARCO-INFLATION FUELING VIOLENCE?

According to Philippine National Police (PNP) Director-General Ronald dela Rosa, Pres. Rodrigo R. Duterte’s war on drugs has been a success if we were to consider inflation among commonly-used narcotics, particularly “shabu,” the price of which went up rapidly in the course of just 100 days of the Duterte administration. Textbook economics holds that a supply shock — such as that brought about by the war on drugs — would push up prices to a higher equilibrium. But since demand for narcotics is price inelastic (in light of the user’s addiction), expect violence to spike as users go to extremes to get their fix. As of PNP’s latest count, the war on drugs has claimed the lives of over a thousand in Metro Manila as of early last month.