A sin tax that (apparently) works

Two economists from the St. Louis Fed, Michael Owyang and Katarina Vermann, have published a paper on the effectiveness of smoking bans.  They conclude:

Nonetheless, the results of this paper imply that increasing cigarette taxes may be more effective in changing smoking behavior than implementing a ban. In the majority of the estimates, the magnitude of an increase in cigarette prices is larger and of greater statistical significance than any of the magnitudes for an individual ban or the aggregate effect of all three types of bans.  Hence, increasing taxes appears to be more effective in reducing the number of smokers.  This finding is especially true in analyses of current smokers and their attempts to quit smoking:  In all models of smoking cessation attempts, the ban variables are neither statistically nor economically significant, but the price variables are.

Morality and Society

David Brooks’ column today offers an overview of Dan Ariely’s new book The (Honest) Truth About Dishonesty.  If the book is as Brooks describes it, there are some interesting implications for religion in society. Here’s a snippet from the column:

I’d add that you really shouldn’t shoot for goodness, which is so vague and forgiving. You should shoot for rectitude. We’re mostly unqualified to judge our own moral performances, so attach yourself to some exterior or social standards.