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Khaled Mohamoud Abdilahi
College of Business and economics
Faculty of Economics
Bachelor’s Degree Thesis
August 2015
The hypnotic consumption: A study on the impact of Khat addiction on consumer behavior in Hargeisa Somaliland.
University of
Hargeisa
(UOH)
Hypnotic Consumption: A study on the impact of Khat addiction on consumer behaviour.
PageI
A Thesis Proposal
Presented to the
Faculty of economics in the
University of Hargeisa
Hargeisa, Somaliland
__________________
In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree
Of bachelor in Economics
________________
By:
Khaled Mohamoud Abdullah
August, 2015
Hypnotic Consumption: A study on the impact of Khat addiction on consumer behaviour.
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Table of Contents
List of Tables and Figures.................................................................................................. V
List of Figures ................................................................................................................... VI
List of Acronyms ............................................................................................................. VII
Declaration A ................................................................................................................. VIII
Declaration B .................................................................................................................... IX
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ................................................................................................. X
Dedication ......................................................................................................................... XI
Abstract ............................................................................................................................ XII
1 Chapter one: ..................................................................................................................... 1
1.1 Introduction and Rationale ................................................................................... 1
1.2 Background .......................................................................................................... 2
1.3 Problem Statement ............................................................................................... 4
1.4 Purpose of the Study ............................................................................................ 6
1.5 Objectives of the study ......................................................................................... 6
1.6 Research questions ............................................................................................... 7
1.7 Scope of the study ................................................................................................ 7
1.8 Significance of the Study ..................................................................................... 8
1.9 Description of the study area ................................................................................ 9
1.10 Operational Definitions of variables ............................................................... 10
1.10.1 Consumer Behaviour .................................................................................. 10
1.10.2 Abnormal Consumer Behaviour ................................................................. 10
1.10.3 Khat Addiction ............................................................................................ 10
1.11 Limitations of the study .................................................................................. 10
1.11.1 Financial limitations: .................................................................................. 11
1.11.2 Institutional Limitations: ............................................................................. 11
1.11.3 Technical Limitations: ................................................................................ 11
1.12 Organization of the Paper ............................................................................... 12
2 Literature Review........................................................................................................... 13
2.1 Abnormal Consumer Behaviour: ....................................................................... 13
2.2 Khat and Addiction: ........................................................................................... 17
2.3 Modelling addiction and consumer behaviour: .................................................. 18
2.3.1 Imperfectly rational addiction models: ....................................................... 18
Hypnotic Consumption: A study on the impact of Khat addiction on consumer behaviour.
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2.3.2 Myopic-addiction models: .......................................................................... 19
2.3.3 Rational-addiction models: ......................................................................... 24
3 Chapter Three: ............................................................................................................... 29
3.1 Study Design ...................................................................................................... 29
3.1.1 Sampling Procedure .................................................................................... 29
3.1.2 Population: .................................................................................................. 29
3.1.3 Sample frame: ............................................................................................. 30
3.2 Data type and sources ......................................................................................... 31
3.3 Data Collection Instrument ................................................................................ 31
3.4 Data analyses and interpretation ........................................................................ 32
4 Chapter Four .................................................................................................................. 33
4.1 Findings and Analyses ....................................................................................... 33
4.2 Sample Characteristics ....................................................................................... 33
4.3 Descriptive analyses ........................................................................................... 38
4.4 Khat addiction and consumer behaviour ............................................................ 49
4.5 Khat addiction and consumer rationality ........................................................... 50
5 Chapter five:................................................................................................................... 51
5.1 5.1 Discussion, implications and Conclusion..................................................... 51
5.2 Implications and recommendation ..................................................................... 52
5.3 Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 53
References ......................................................................................................................... 54
Appendix One: Correlation Tables ................................................................................... 56
Appendix Two: Survey Questionnaire Consent Letter ..................................................... 60
Appendix Three: Survey Questionnaire............................................................................ 62
Hypnotic Consumption: A study on the impact of Khat addiction on consumer behaviour.
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List of Tables and Figures
Table 3.1 Population and sample proportion: ............................................................................... 30
Table 4.1 Employment status: ....................................................................................................... 33
Table 4.2 Respondent’s age range: ................................................................................................ 34
Table 4.3 Respondent’s marital status: ......................................................................................... 34
Table 4.4 Khat chewing: ................................................................................................................. 35
Table 4.5 If chewing Khat is regular : ............................................................................................. 35
Table 4.6 If Khat an important part of respondent: ...................................................................... 36
Table 4.7 If Khat is equally important as food: .............................................................................. 36
Table 4.8 If expenditure of on Khat consumption is waste of time and money ............................ 37
Table 7.1 Correlation between past Khat chewing & level of spending on Khat .......................... 57
Table 7.2 Correlation between past Khat chewing & income allocated for family ...................... 57
Table 7.3 Correlation between spending on Khat & income allocated for the family .................. 58
Table 7.4 Correlation between past Khat chewing & response to Khat price rise ....................... 58
Table 7.5 Correlation between Khat spending & information on adverse health and economic
effects related to Khat ................................................................................................................... 59
Hypnotic Consumption: A study on the impact of Khat addiction on consumer behaviour.
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List of Figures
Figure 4-1 Number of past years in Khat chewing: ........................................................................ 38
Figure 4-2 Number of daily hourse spent in chewing Khat ........................................................... 39
Figure 4-3 The degree of expected hardship if Khat chewer quite from Khat chewing ................ 40
Figure 4-4 Degree of perceived dependence on Khat on Khat chewing ....................................... 41
Figure 4-5 Respondent's monthly income level: ........................................................................... 42
Figure 4-6 Level of income allocated for family by the Khat chewer ............................................ 43
Figure 4-7 Level of monthly Khat expenditure by the Khat chewer .............................................. 44
Figure 4-8 Degree of Khat chewer's familiarity with adverse health effects from Khat chewing . 45
Figure 4-9 Degree of Khat chewer's familiarity with adverse economic effects of Khat chewing 46
Figure 4-10 If Khat prices go up by fifty percent and respondent’s income level remains constant
the Khat addict would spend a percentage of money on Khat relevant to price change ............. 47
Figure 4-11 If Khat prices go down by fifty percent and the respondent’s income level remains
constant the Khat addict would spend a percentage on Khat relevant to price change .............. 48
Hypnotic Consumption: A study on the impact of Khat addiction on consumer behaviour.
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List of Acronyms
UOH University of Hargeisa
NPS New Psychoactive Substances
INCB International Narcotics Control Board
EMCDDA European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction
UNODC United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
NIDA National Institute on Drug Abuse
Hypnotic Consumption: A study on the impact of Khat addiction on consumer behaviour.
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Declaration A
I declare that this thesis is my original work and that all sources of materials used for this
thesis/dissertation have been duly acknowledged. This thesis/dissertation has been
submitted in partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Of bachelor in
Economics at the University of Hargeisa and is deposited at the University Library to be
made available to borrowers under rules of the Library. I solemnly declare that this
thesis/dissertation is not submitted to any other institution anywhere for the award of any
academic degree, diploma, or certificate. Brief questions from this dissertation are
allowable without special permission provided that accurate acknowledgement of source
is made. Requests for permission for extended quotation form or reproduction of this
manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the head of the college of business and
economics or the Dean of the faculty of economics when in his or her judgment the
proposed use of the material is in the interests of scholarship. In all other instances,
however, permission must be obtained from the author.
Khaled Mohamoud Abdilahi: _____________________
Name and the Signature of the Author
_____________________________________
Date
Hypnotic Consumption: A study on the impact of Khat addiction on consumer behaviour.
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Declaration B
"I confirm that the work reported in this thesis was carried out by the candidate under my
supervision".
Abdishakur Mohamed Hussein: _____________________
Name and the Signature of the Supervisor
_____________________________________
Date
Hypnotic Consumption: A study on the impact of Khat addiction on consumer behaviour.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to tribute and thank to Allah for the help of being able finishing this thesis. I
would like to thank the University of Hargeisa for facilitating the supervisory of this
bachelor’s Degree thesis project and all the guidance and support which was necessary
for the writing up of this thesis.
My appreciation and thank also goes to the dean of the faculty of economics in the
University who without it, there was no possibility to pursue this study here. It is a great
pleasure to express my deepest and sincere gratitude to my supervisor, Dr. Abdishakur
for his precious assistance and guidance during the course of this thesis. I was really
privileged in having him as my advisor. Without his generous devotion from the early
title modification to the final conclusion of this thesis through adding his constructive and
ever teaching comments, this paper might not have this shape. Thus, I am very much
indebted to him. Finally, I would like to thank my family members for their devotion and
moral support. I would also thank to my friends for their encouragement and
demonstrative support to get through the difficult times and everybody who was
important to the successful realization of this thesis and the entire course. My apology
goes to anybody who contributed even the least that I cannot mention personally one by
one. You are all dear to me and my heartfelt appreciation goes to you.
Hypnotic Consumption: A study on the impact of Khat addiction on consumer behaviour.
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Dedication
To the people, scholars and academics in the Republic of Somaliland
Hypnotic Consumption: A study on the impact of Khat addiction on consumer behaviour.
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Abstract
This study examined the impact of Khat consumption on consumer behaviour using a
cross-sectional field survey. The research examined a sample size of 33 individuals
randomly selected from different parts of Hargeisa city. In the absence of an economic
model that examines the relationship between Khat addiction and consumer behaviour,
we have found that Khat addicts derive a utility from Khat consumption expressed in the
form of high or a feeling of happiness due to the dopamine hormone release in the brain.
On this basis, Khat addict’s consumption is basically rational. But on the other hand,
Khat addicts ignore relevant information on the adverse health and economic effects of
Khat addiction on the addict thus, Khat addicts behave irrationally. In this light, we have
found that Khat addicts hold inconsistent preferences and the power of addiction on their
behaviour prevails on the expense of their long term health and economic well-being.
This finding coincides with the exemplification of the tobacco consumption’s imperfectly
rational addiction model: “Everybody behaves like two people, one who wants clean
lungs and long life and another who adores tobacco. . . . The two are in a continual
contest for control; the ‘straight’ one often in command most of the time, but the
wayward one needing only to get occasional control to spoil the other’s best laid plan.”
(Schelling, 1978, p. 290)
Hypnotic Consumption: A study on the impact of Khat addiction on consumer behaviour.
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1 Chapter one:
1.1 Introduction and Rationale
The rise of the neoclassical synthesis in the postmodern epoch came with an ontological
framework that defines the intrinsic and the essence of economic behaviour as a
consequence of the rational choice theory in which individuals are trying to maximize
their happiness and wellbeing by interacting with profit maximizing firms in
hypothetically perfect markets. In addition, the role of the government is overseeing the
whole system by preventing or fixing market failures and inequality.
Based on the rational economic theory, the field of consumer behaviour covers a lot of
ground: It is the study of the processes involved when individuals or groups select,
purchase, use, or dispose or products, services, ideas or experiences to satisfy needs and
desires. Needs and desires to be satisfied range from hunger and thirst to love and, status,
or even spiritual fulfilment. (Solomon, 2012)
Albeit the fact that the contemporary economic intelligentsia had long been familiar with
abnormal economic behaviours like addictive consumption of narcotics and compulsive
consumerism yet they had largely ignored to address these perverse economic behaviours
wrongly assuming that these behaviours are fundamentally irrational hence doesn’t apply
to the basic economic epistemological principle of rationality.
This epistemological negligence was prevalent before the 1980s but since then, a
respectable body of knowledge had been created to explain the economics of abnormal
consumerism and addictive habits.
Whether a commodity conforms to the law of diminishing or increasing return, the
increase in consumption arising from a fall in price is gradual; and, further, habits which
have once grown up around the use of a commodity while its price is low are not so
quickly abandoned when its price rises again (Marshall 1920, appendix H, section 3, p.
807). ere arshal showcases the e istence and the economic sanity of abnormal
behaviour albeit in a limited sense by admitting that habitual or addictive
Hypnotic Consumption: A study on the impact of Khat addiction on consumer behaviour.
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consumption is reluctantly elastic with price fluctuations in contrast with rational
consumption which is perfectly elastic with price changes. Because of the increasing rate
of globalization and the abuse of narcotics and illicit drugs, the individual consumer has
become more important than ever and it necessitates behavioural economists to put a
greater emphasis on researching negative economic behaviours that can adversely affect
the wellbeing of the consumer in particular and the economy in general.
(Solomon 2004) defines ‘consumer addiction as a physiological or psychological
dependency on products or services’. In general, three main intrinsic features are
characterized to understand consumer addiction in an economic sense namely
tolerance reinforcement and withdrawal . ( shton and Stepney 2 haloup a
USDHHS 1988) tolerance implies the mechanism, by which the body adopts with drug
uptake, escalating consumption pattern over time to balance diminishing marginal level
of utility. Reinforcement explains the rewards and responses associated with the
consumption of the addictive substance over time. Withdrawal is related with the adverse
effects of quitting, reducing or interrupting the consumption of the addictive product.
This means that the consumer is likely to proceed using the addictive product to avoid the
adverse effects of the withdrawal. (Ashton and Stepney, 1982)
Research on abnormal consumer behavior in the context of Khat addiction is completely
missing according to my knowledge. The best way to deal with the Khat addiction
phenomenon and the subsequent yet inevitable economic repercussions of this narcotic
which is massively consumed by the Somalis and Yemenis has long been confusing
social practitioners. This thesis attempts to address the nature of a specific abnormal
consumer behavior and its relation with Khat addiction. This study have tried to explain
how Khat addiction affects the consumer behavior and decision making in a utilitarian
framework.
1.2 Background
Hypnotic Consumption: A study on the impact of Khat addiction on consumer behaviour.
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New empirical data shows that the trend and the magnitude of worldwide licit and illicit
narcotics of new psychoactive substance (NPS)1 production and their consumption have
been rising in recent years [UNODC, 2014 Global Synthetic Drugs Assessment]. This
phenomenon has largely been lin ed with albeit not limited to the lack of
international consensus on the legality of the NPS hence not controlled under the
international law, exacerbated by the complexity of NPS trafficking and marketing
methods in which recently internet and new black markets took significant roles in the
facilitation of NPS consumption under the banner of recreational herbs, legal high
products or research material. In addition to unstable socioeconomic and political
conditions, (INCB, Annual report 2014) the absence of public awareness due to the low
number and quality of recent researches about NPS narcotics and their harmful
socioeconomic and health related consequences have exacerbated the proliferation of
NPS narcotic.
In a regional effort to build a consensus on NPS, the council of European Union endorsed
a new system for quick exchange of information on NPS as an early warning system in
1997 and in 2005 the European Union council took a decision concerning all NPS
(2005/387/JHA). Based on that decision, the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and
Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) compiles each year the latest information about the NPS
their health related risks and socioeconomic consequences and then prepares an updated
report which would be disseminated for public use and shared with European member
states.
In 2013, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) commenced an
international early warning system on NPS as a rapid information sharing mechanism in
an attempt to tackle the emerging phenomenon of NPS consumption. UNODC's
Executive Director Yury Fedotov have said in a press release: "The adverse effects of
NPS are poorly understood and present a global health risk. Concerted action is urgently
1 “NPS – New psychoactive substances are substances of abuse, either in a pure form or a preparation,
that are not controlled by the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs or the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances, but which may pose a public health threat. In this context, the term ‘new’ does not necessarily refer to new inventions but to substances that have been recently become available.” [United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime]
Hypnotic Consumption: A study on the impact of Khat addiction on consumer behaviour.
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needed by the international community to prevent the manufacture, trafficking and abuse
of these drugs. UNODC is playing a leading role in addressing this challenge by
launching an early warning advisory system on NPS, which is the first global reference
point on these substances." (UNODC)
7% of these New Psychoactive Substances are plant-based which includes the Khat
among other plant-based substances (UNODC, 2014). Khat is a shrub with a scientific
name of (catha edulis) of the celastraceae family (UNODC).
In Somalia, men habitually consume Khat than women: 75% of men chew khat regularly
compared with only 7–10% of women. (Alem et al. 1999)
Khat is not new to the world as it was first identified in Europe during the 18th
century
(UNOD ) it’s a traditional mildly hallucinogenic psychostimulant narcotic mainly
cultivated in East Africa and Southern Arabia (UNODC). Khat is highly prevalent in
Somalia, Somaliand, Ethiopia, Kenya, Yemen and—in a lesser extent—Southern Africa.
Expatriates from East Africa who live in Europe and North America also consume
smuggled Khat though in some countries it’s not scheduled under the list of illicit
narcotics. The United States National Institute on Drug Use estimates the number of Khat
consumer worldwide to be as much as 20 million users. (US, National Institute on Drug
Abuse, 2015) Much of them are addicted.
s Green R. . ( ) argues ‘Khat production totals perhaps $ 00 million at wholesale
prices almost all in Ethiopia ($500 million), Kenya ($300 million) and Somaliland ($50
million). Ethiopia uses perhaps half its output exporting the remainder to Somaliland,
Djibouti, London, Yemen and Somalia. Kenyan Somalis use perhaps a fifth of output
with the balance exported to Somalia and London. Somaliland is a user/importer (about
one quarter domestically produced), Djibouti and the diaspora (to the extent Khat is
available) are importers and users.’
1.3 Problem Statement
Hypnotic Consumption: A study on the impact of Khat addiction on consumer behaviour.
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The magnitude of this phenomenon is reflected by the growing and problematic nature of
Khat consumption in Somaliland. Before a decade and a half Green, R. H. (1999)
estimated that hat narcotic is the largest “personal consumption at about 25 per cent
commerce and associated services at up to 20 per cent rop production at about 50 per
cent Imports on the order of 30 per cent Ta revenue contributing perhaps 25 per cent of
Somaliland government’s revenue.”
In a recent path-breaking anthropological study by Hansen, P. (2010) the amount of Khat
imports in Somaliland is around 6,500 to 7,200 tons per year from Ethiopia costing an
average of $50 million dollars. Besides health related problems Khat causes massive
drain of Somaliland’s aggregate and household economy.
Since the 1950’s when the colonial authorities in Somaliland British protectorate
officially banned Khat consumption, there had been several attempts to ban Khat
consumption in Somalia. In 1983 the Somali regime imposed a total ban on Khat
importation and production (Samatar, 1989; Bestemann, 1999; Green, 1999; Cabdi,
2005). But the attempt failed to completely stop Khat inflow as it was smuggled from
Ethiopia (cf. Samatar, 1985:55–56).
This study was motivated by the persistent debate on the phenomenon of Khat addiction
and its economic consequences in global, regional and national levels and the recent ban
on Khat importation and consumption in the UK. s many individuals in Somaliland’s
elites in social, political, religious and economic realms repeatedly warning policy
makers and the general public about the growing consumption of Khat and alleged
adverse costs caused by Khat abuse, — though a lot of interdisciplinary studies proved
and analyzed most of these claims — it seemed to me that a thorough theoretical and
empirical investigation is be necessary to understand these claims in a basic
microeconomic point of view.
In this paper, we have addressed the problem of abnormal economic behavior induced by
Khat addiction. We have analyzed whether Khat dependency is a rational phenomenon
Hypnotic Consumption: A study on the impact of Khat addiction on consumer behaviour.
Page6
that can be explained in the theory of economics or if it is wholly irrational behavior
hence doesn’t deserve to be approached with an economic perspective. The fundamental
problem that this study has attempted to solve is the lack of understanding on the
dynamics of decision-making regarding income allocation and consumption of Khat
addicts. I have tried to use a useful model to depict the economic relationship between
these variables and how they overlap with each other with respect to time.
1.4 Purpose of the Study
The fundamental purpose of this study is to produce knowledge and fill the research gap
about the economics of Khat addiction. It also aims to help economists and social
practitioners understand the behaviour of addicts in an economic sense. It also intends to
spark an academic debate and motivate academics to pursue further research on this
subject.
This study aims to explore, discover and analyze the Impact of khat addiction on personal
decision making process, household income allocation and expenditure of the addicts in
Hargiesa, Somaliland.
1.5 Objectives of the study
1. To develop simple logical models for the khat addiction and consumption
expenditure, income level and Khat consumption, mapping the mechanism by
which income affects Khat consumption.
2. To capture the intrinsic mechanism of individual decision making process
regarding Khat consumption.
Hypnotic Consumption: A study on the impact of Khat addiction on consumer behaviour.
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3. To understand the underlining behavioural factors that help sustain the flourishing
industry of khat business.
4. To be able to answer whether Khat consumption is a rational behaviour or not.
5. To discover how time affects consumer behaviour in the context of Khat
consumption.
6. To explain why Khat addicts depend on Khat consumption and how income level
is related to Khat consumption.
1.6 Research questions
1. How time is relative in determining consumer behaviour of the Khat user
and how past consumption determines the present consumption of the
Khat user?
2. What is the relationship between Khat addiction and consumption
behaviour? Does Khat addiction affect consumer behaviour?
3. How Khat addiction affects consumer decision making process and
determines household income allocation? What is the relationship between
income level and Khat consumption level?
4. What is the nature of the consumption behaviour of the Khat addict?
5. Is the economic behaviour of the Khat addict rational or irrational?
6. What is the explanation of Khat dependency in an economic sense and
why Khat addicts use Khat?
1.7 Scope of the study
The scope of this study is circumscribed within the theoretical framework of abnormal
consumer behaviour. This thesis did not add any new contributions to the already known
literature on Khat and the basic definition of addiction. This paper aims to boil-down the
Hypnotic Consumption: A study on the impact of Khat addiction on consumer behaviour.
Page8
intriguing consumption behaviour of Khat addicts by scrutinizing psychological motives,
expectations and physical rewards or relative harms thus; the subsequent analysis was be
limited to socioeconomic upshots in a narrow cause and effect relationship.
The core and fundamental subject matter that this thesis is trying to explain is a human
related phenomenon thus we assume that the application of our findings on similar
circumstances should not necessarily be limited to the specific group of people that we
have addressed nor the defined geographical area that we have investigated during this
study.
On the other hand, the target people of this investigation and the resultant analysis were
based on a sample chosen from the employed and married Khat addicted portion of
Hargiesa male population with lower and middle income level. This study excludes
female Khat addicts, mentally ill males, and unemployed males. The timeframe of this
study is three months of cross-sectional research.
1.8 Significance of the Study
This study is quite significant in both local and international realm in the sense that
similar studies are absolutely non-existent in the specific context of Khat usage. On the
other hand this is study didn’t contribute to the existing knowledge regarding consumer
behaviour and narcotic addiction like cigarette consumption and alcohol abuse.
Different types of audiences might benefit from this study and it’s definitely helpful in
improving the general desire of a Khat free society and economy. Khat addicts who can
read and can have access to this study might benefit it as they might witness the perverse
way in which their subconscious mind works, how they get motivated, obliged to spend
too much money on Khat, the way in which time affects their Khat consumption
Hypnotic Consumption: A study on the impact of Khat addiction on consumer behaviour.
Page9
behaviour and they are likely see more clearly of the blur which has long blinded them
and prevented them to see the economic problematic of their addiction.
Social science academics like economists, socialists, anthropologists and behavioural
psychologists might benefit from this study in a really profound way as they can
understand the intriguing phenomenon of Khat addiction in an economic context boiled-
down into its unambiguous intrinsic characterises, relationship of different variables and
mechanisms of decision making in the realm of consumption and income allocation.
Honest and development oriented policy makers, legislators, government authorities,
social and political practitioners might get a ready-made analysis, viable scientific
justification and primary understanding on the subject and the phenomenon of the deviant
economic behaviour of Khat addicts. This is likely facilitate policy formulation, methods
of dealing with the negative economic consequences of Khat addiction and long run
future courses of action regarding development and socioeconomic progress.
1.9 Description of the study area
Studying human behaviour is not an easy job; it’s very complicated as the underlying
factors are complex, overlapping and intriguing. When it comes to economic decision
making, rationality is a fundamental principle in explaining consumer behaviour but also
information and expectations play an important role.
The target population of this study is focused on the employed males with low or middle
income levels in the Hargeisa metropolitan area. Hargiesa is the capital city of
Somaliland it has a relatively growing economy as it represents a business hub
connecting the international port city of Berbera, the rest of Somaliland and the Somali
region of Ethiopia. It is the most populated city in Somaliland and the second largest city
in the former Somali republic.
A huge amount of Khat enters Hargeisa via Wajaale and many people majority of whom
are males that can afford consume the Ethiopian grown Khat.
Hypnotic Consumption: A study on the impact of Khat addiction on consumer behaviour.
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A 2012 survey conducted by the international labour organization estimated the number
of males who are employed is 16,882 employees. The reason I chose employees is that
they earn their income through hard work thus I assume they are more likely to be
economically sane than any other group. I have also targeted males who are head of a
household as their expenditure and budget patterns affect their decision making process.
The reason that I chose males is that they represent the majority of Khat addicts and had
power in expenditure decisions in household level so their consumer behaviour reflects a
wide fertile area for investigation.
1.10 Operational Definitions of variables
1.10.1 Consumer Behaviour
Consumer behaviour in the context of this study is regarded as the sum of
manners and patterns of expenditure on consumption.
1.10.2 Abnormal Consumer Behaviour
The operational and nuanced definition of the abnormal consumer behaviour
in this context can be explained as the impulsive and regular expenditure on
the consumption of a relatively less useful good.
1.10.3 Khat Addiction
We define addiction in this paper’s ambience as the utilitarian dependency on
Khat consumption.
1.11 Limitations of the study
There are too many limitation hampering the scope, reliability and quality of this study.
These limitations include financial, institutional and technical limitations.
Hypnotic Consumption: A study on the impact of Khat addiction on consumer behaviour.
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1.11.1 Financial limitations:
The project of this research lacks financial support and the financial burden is completely
the researcher’s responsibility. s the researcher is currently under-employed and the
university increased tuition fees, the sample size and the geographical coverage of the
investigation was extremely limited.
1.11.2 Institutional Limitations:
The university’s help is limited to the e tent of supervising this study with a limited time
frame and providing a written guideline for the thesis project.
1.11.3 Technical Limitations:
1. Extraneous variables which are beyond the researcher’s control such as
respondent’s honesty, personal biases and uncontrolled setting of the study.
2. Instrumentation: The research instrument on work performance is not
standardized. Therefore a validity and reliability test where needed to be
done to produce a credible measurement of the research variables.
3. Testing: The use of research assistants can bring about inconsistency in
the administration of the questionnaires in terms of time of
administration, understanding of the items in the questionnaires and
explanations given to the respondents. To minimize this threat, the
research assistants oriented and briefed on the procedures to be done in
data collection.
4. Attrition/Mortality: Not all questionnaires maybe returned neither
completely answered nor even retrieved back due to circumstances on the
part of the respondents such as travels, sickness, hospitalization and
refusal/withdrawal to participate. In anticipation to this, the researcher
has reserved more respondents by exceeding the minimum sample size.
The respondents were also reminded not to leave any item in the
questionnaires unanswered and have been closely followed up as to the
date of retrieval.
Hypnotic Consumption: A study on the impact of Khat addiction on consumer behaviour.
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1.12 Organization of the Paper
This paper is structured as follow: the chapter one gives a general overview of the study
area. The second chapter encapsulates some of the published literature on Khat,
addiction, and modeling of abnormal consumer behavior. It frames the theoretical
context, the empirical material and the conceptual framework of the study. Chapter three
postulates the research methodology. It depicts the common methodology and the
specification of the behavioral model and the data collection and analyzing techniques.
Chapter four offers and discusses the core discoveries of the study. It would elucidate the
eloquent and the behavioral economic analysis. The final chapter drew conclusions and
repercussions.
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2 Literature Review
The academic literature regarding this study’s main variables is so vast and diverse
depicting amazing details and deep insights of knowledge and information. Researchers
all over the world from different fields of knowledge from humanities to natural sciences
to social sciences participated in a marathon of producing knowledge in attempt to feed
the not only the unlimited human curiosity but also by contributing important information
to our collective human civilization helping our development and progress.
2.1 Abnormal Consumer Behaviour:
In the 70’s of the last century compared to the history of most disciplines, the study of
consumer behaviour was in its infancy, dating back less than 50 years. (Kollat, D. T.,
Engel, J. F., & Blackwell, R. D. (1970).)
In a ground-breaking study authored by (Krych, R. 1989) titled as (Abnormal consumer
behaviour: a model of addictive behaviours) and as a growing body of empirical evidence
reframes the definition of behavioural and activity addictions (gambling, overeating,
Internet use, narcotics, etc.), the author discusses the definition of the abnormal consumer
behaviour:
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“One of the presenters this morning defined deviant behavior as "any behavior which
differs from the normal standard". I submit that we would be hard pressed to defend this
definition due to the difficulty in defining the term "normal". Many definitions of deviant
behavior are very subjective and emotionally laden in nature, and often the term "deviant
behavior" arises whenever someone else is doing something we ourselves don't like or
approve of. For example, in the not-so-distant past people who indulged in consumption
of a drug or engaged in some other form of activity to the point of social or physical
harm, and continued with such behavior despite expressed intentions to stop, and despite
recommendations from others, were said to be suffering from a form of mania, such as
dipsomania, narcotomania, kleptomania, or pyromania, to name a few. They were often
seen to be in the grip of "morbid appetites" or "diseases of the will". Although such
language is largely outdated, the phenomenon to which this language referred have
continued unabated, and the repertoire of addictions has even expanded. Addiction to
alcohol and drugs is well known, of course. Compulsive gambling is another well-known
addiction. In recent years various eating disorders have been conceptualized as types of
addictions to food. We are also hearing and learning more about sexual addiction,
addiction to work ("workaholics"); some people are examining addiction to video games.
We also hear of addiction to spending (as mentioned in this conference), exercise addicts,
people addicted to religion, and others. Currently there are many researchers attempting
to examine and understand these phenomenon more completely.
History teaches us that the same behavior can be viewed from totally different
perspectives depending on the fashion of thought at the time, and the orientation of the
observer. For example, some addictive behaviors have been viewed as non-problematic
overindulgence (in the early days of the United States, drinking to the point of
drunkenness was common, but was seen as nonproblematic overindulgence), sinful
behavior, criminal activity, as a disease, as maladaptive behavior, and as deviance. Many
of these perspectives lose their objectivity in emotionality and value laden beliefs and
attitudes.”
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Here the author exemplifies the difficulty in defining the abnormal consumer behaviour
and this raises questions as to the possibility of establishing a general consensus on the
understanding of abnormal consumer behaviors.
A 1975 literature review paper published in the journal of Advances in Consumer
Research by William H. Cummings titled as (Cognitive Dissonance and Consumer
Behaviour: a Review of the Evidence) portrays a the psychology of abnormal consumer
behaviour in a more nuanced way and puts it in a wider theoretical context by examining
the applicability of the theory of cognitive dissonance which (Festinger, L. 1962) defined
it as the state of having inconsistent thoughts, beliefs, or attitudes, especially as relating
to behavioural decisions and attitude change.
In its introduction, the researcher lays down the theoretical framework of explaining the
abnormal consumer behaviour: “The theory of cognitive dissonance has generated a good
deal of research in consumer behavior, however, this research has not yet been fully
reviewed and critiqued. The relevant evidence from three phases of consumer behavior is
reviewed here: pre-decisional determinants of product preference, post-decisional
determinants of product preference, and information seeking behavior. The evidence
from the first two areas generally supports the dissonance-based predictions, while the
evidence from the third area generally fails to support the predictions.
There have been a number of nasty rumors lately that "cognitive dissonance theory is
dead" and that "cognitive dissonance theory began to be out of date a long time ago."
This may well be so. It would seem, however, that before we bury dissonance theory, we
should make sure that all the phenomena and events which it explains (particularly post-
decisional attitude change) are also dead or out of date. We should make sure that the
theory is entirely incorporated within new and more general theories. And we should be
sure that dissonance theory is incapable of generating further predictions of interest to
social scientists.
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A few years ago, dissonance theory generated considerable interest and enthusiasm. The
generalizability of the theory from the social psychology laboratory to consumer behavior
appeared quite certain. Twenty-three studies have since examined the applicability of
dissonance theory to consumer behavior. [We have attempted to include all relevant
studies from the Consumer Behavior literature while including as few studies as possible
from the social psychological literature. Only three studies from the social psychological
literature have been included in this review. Three studies from the consumer behavior
literature have been excluded. Oshikawa's study (1970) is not directly relevant to
consumer behavior. Reizenstein's study (1971) hints at relevance to dissonance theory but
fails to provide necessary choice-making conditions for producing dissonance among the
subjects. Bell's study (1967) is questionable on basic conceptual grounds, viz., "direct"
indication of magnitude of dissonance arousal.] Although a number of reviews have
examined the theoretical relevance of dissonance theory to the consumer behavior area,
no review has apparently yet attempted to integrate and critique the empirical evidence
on this matter.”
William H. Cummings concludes: “We feel that the application of dissonance theory to
consumer behavior -- at least within the areas of predecisional and postdecisional
determinants of product satisfaction -- has been substantiated. There have been a number
of methodological problems in this line of research, but most of them are of a sort that
can be avoided by means of a simple inventory of possible pitfalls or the addition of the
appropriate control conditions. It does not appear that dissonance theory can be
adequately incorporated within any other framework and retain its power to generate new
and intriguing hypotheses. And that power -- to generate hypotheses should continue to
be the major selling point of dissonance theory.”
Here I gave William H. Cummings a pass for suggesting the usefulness of the cognitive
dissonance as a theoretical framework that could be applied to the wider field of
consumer behaviour but my critique is that William H. Cummings perspective is too
holistic and ambiguous so I disagree that this theory could be applied on consumer
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behaviour in its generality but on the other hand, it could be very useful if we apply it on
the specific niche of the abnormal consumer behaviour as it retains a powerful
explanatory potential.
2.2 Khat and Addiction:
For the recent decades, a respectable body of multi-disciplinary literature has emerged
focusing on Khat from different perspectives like pharmacology, physiology and
psychology, economics, sociology and in so many other related fields but they are mostly
narrow and not comprehensive. Unfortunately, nothing has been written on the effect of
Khat addiction on consumer behaviour. When I searched academic article titles that
include the word Khat , google scholar2 showed 1,670 published material that contain the
phrase Khat in their title.
Those with economic relevance were only 24 and they are not specifically focused on
Khat in economic context but with a wider social and cultural framework, these include
(Gezon, L. (2012); Adenew, B. (2005); Randrianame, M., Szendrei, K., Tongue, A., &
Shahandeh, B. (1983); Hassan, M. R. S. (2001); Dimba, E., Aden, A., Ndolo, U., &
Chindia, M. L. (2006); World Health Organization. (1983))
The addiction potential of Khat has been contested as some academics view its addictive
potentiality as very low (W.H.O, 2006; Pennings, E. J. M., Opperhuizen, A., & van
Amsterdam, J. G. C. (2008)) while others disagree with them. (Kassim and Croucher,
2006; (Gossop et al.,1995)
Nevertheless, the quality and credibility of those findings that prove the high potential
addiction of Khat are relatively unequivocal. Khat has high addictive potential due to its
constituent, "cathinone." Cathinone, (1(5) + (minus sign) aminopropiophenon), is a
2 Google Scholar is the largest academic search engine which includes most peer-reviewed online journals
of Europe and America's largest scholarly publishers plus scholarly books and other non-peer reviewed
journals. It indexes the full text or metadata of scholarly literature 90% of all material published in English
across an array of publishing formats and disciplines. (Trend Watch, 2014)
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sympathomimetic, similar but not identical to cocaine and amphetamine in activity and
addiction potential. (Giannini, A. J., & Nakoneczie, A. M. (1995) et al)
2.3 Modelling addiction and consumer behaviour:
Khat addiction and consumer behaviour has never been modelled but behavioural
economists put a great focus in modelling similar addictions like nicotine addiction and
cigarette consumption.
A great work authored by (Chaloupka, F. J., Tauras, J. A., & Grossman, M. 2000)
discusses different models for rational addiction in the context of cigarettes.
2.3.1 Imperfectly rational addiction models:
“Elster (1979), McKenzie (1979), Winston (1980), and Schelling (1978, 1980, 1984a,
1984b) best exemplify the economic models of imperfectly rational addictive behavior.
These models generally assume stable but inconsistent short-run and long-run
preferences.
This is seen for e ample in Schelling’s ( 7 p. 2 0) description of a smo er trying to
‘ ic the habit’: Everybody behaves like two people, one who wants clean lungs and long
life and another who adores tobacco. . . . The two are in a continual contest for control;
the ‘straight’ one often in command most of the time, but the wayward one needing only
to get occasional control to spoil the other’s best laid plan. Thus, the farsighted
personality may enroll in a smoking-cessation program, only to be undone by the short-
sighted personality’s relapse in a wea moment.Winston ( 0) formally modeled this
behavior and described how this contest between personalities leads to the evolution of
what he called ‘anti-mar ets’ which he defined as firms or institutions that individuals
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will pay to help them stop consuming (e.g. smoking cessation programs or
pharmaceutical companies producing nicotine-replacement products).
Strotz (1956) was the first to develop a formal model of such behavior, describing the
constrained utility maximization process as one in which an individual chooses a future
consumption path that maximizes current utility, but later in life changes this plan ‘even
though his original expectations of future desires and means of consumption are verified’
(p. 165).This inconsistency between current and future preferences arises when a non-
exponential discount function is used (this is discussed further below). Strotz went on to
suggest that rational persons will recognize this inconsistency and plan accordingly, by
pre-committing their future behavior or by modifying consumption plans to be consistent
with future preferences when unable to pre-commit.
Pollak (1968) went one step further, arguing that an individual may behave naively even
when using an exponential discount function.Thaler and Shefrin (1981) described the
problem similarly, referring to an individual at any point in time as both a ‘far-sighted
planner and a myopic doer’ (p. 3 2) with the two in continual conflict. While these
models present interesting discussions of some aspects of addictive behavior, they have
not yet been applied empirically to cigarette smoking or other addictions.
2.3.2 Myopic-addiction models:
The naive behavior described in some of the imperfectly rational models of addiction is
the basis for many of the myopic models of addictive behavior. As Pollak (1975)
observed, behavior is naive in the sense that an individual recognizes the dependence of
current addictive consumption decisions on past consumption, but then ignores the
impact of current and past choices on future consumption decisions when making current
choices. Many of these models treat preferences as endogenous, allowing tastes to change
over time in response to past consumption (Gorman 1967; Pollak 1970, 1976, 1978; von
Weizsacker 1971; El-Safty 1976a, 1976b; Hammond 1976a, 1976b). These models are
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similar in spirit to those in which tastes change in response to factors other than past
consumption, including advertising (Galbraith 1958, 1972; Dixit and Norman 1978) and
prices (Pollak 1977).
In some implementations of these models, past consumption affects current consumption
through an accumulated stock of past consumption (e.g. Houthakker and Taylor 1966,
1970). These models are comparable to those of the demand for durable consumer goods
that use a stoc adjustment process (e.g. how’s ( 60) model of the demand for
automobiles and Garcia dos Santos’ ( 72) analysis of the demands for household
durables).
As Phlips (1983) noted, however, the distinction between models with endogenous tastes
and those with stable preferences within a household production framework is purely
semantic, since the underlying mathematics of the two are the same. The earliest
theoretical models of demand in the context of myopic addiction can be traced to the
irreversible demand models (Haavelmo 1944; Duesenberry 1949; Modigliani 1949;
Farrell 1952). Farrell, for example, described an irreversible demand function as one in
which current demand depends on all past price and income combinations.
As a result, price and income elasticities are constant, but may differ for
increases and decreases in price and income. Farrell tested this model empirically, using
data from the United Kingdom on the demands for tobacco and beer from 1870, 112
Tobacco control in developing countries through 1938, in a model that included not only
current price and income, but also price, income, and consumption in the prior year. In
general, his estimates were inconclusive,
although he did find limited evidence of habit formation for tobacco use.
The notion of asymmetric responses to price and income reappeared in Scitovsky (1976)
and was applied to cigarette demand by Young (1983), using US data from 1929–73. The
basic notion was that the response to a price increase or drop in income will be smaller in
absolute value than the response to a comparable price reduction or increase in income.
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Young asserted that this was due to the addictive nature of cigarette smoking. Young’s
empirical model included separate variables for price increases, price reductions, income
increases, and income reductions, as well as a variety of other factors affecting demand.
Using Ridge regression methods, Young obtained estimates consistent with his
hypotheses. His estimated price elasticity of demand for price increases (–0.33) was
slightly more than half of his estimate for price decreases (–0.61), with a comparable
relationship for income (income elasticity of 0.30 for increases and 0.15 for reductions).
Pekurinen (1989) took the same approach to estimating cigarette demand in Finland,
concluding that Finnish smoking was almost twice as responsive to price reductions
(elasticity of –0.94) as it was to price increases (elasticity of –0.49). In the Young and
Pekurinen models, myopic behavior is captured by the asymmetric responses to changes
in price and income.
In contrast to the earlier work by Farrell (1952), these models are essentially atheoretical
and ignore the effect of past consumption on current consumption that is emphasized in
most theoretical models of addiction. As Godfrey (1989) noted, this mis-specification of
demand is likely to produce biased estimates of the effect of price on cigarette demand.
Most empirical applications of myopic models of addiction are based on the pioneering
work by Houthakker and Taylor (1966, 1970).
They formally introduced the dependence of current consumption of an addictive good on
its past consumption by modeling current demand as a function of a ‘stoc of habits’:
C(t) = a + βS(t) +X(t) G (5.1)
Where C(t) is consumption of the addictive good at time t, X(t) is a vector of factors
influencing demand, and S(t) is the stock of habits at time t, defined as:
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S(t) = C(t - 1) + (1 - d)S(t - 1), (5.2)
Where d is the rate of depreciation. This stoc of habits or ‘addictive stoc ’ represents
the depreciated sum of all past consumption of the addictive good and explicitly captures
the dependence of current consumption on past consumption. Making appropriate
substitutions, Houthakker and Taylor derived the following demand equation:
C(t) = p + tC(t - 1) + [X(t) - X(t - 1)]j + X(t)q. ( 5.3)
Thus, after simplification, the addictive nature of demand is captured by making current
consumption dependent on past consumption. Houthakker and Taylor predicted that t will
be positive for addictive or habit forming goods like tobacco products. Houthakker and
Taylor estimated alternative versions of eqn 5.3 for a number of goods, including
cigarettes, using annual aggregates for the US and several Western European countries.
Their estimates provided considerable support for their hypothesis of habit formation in
demand, with positive estimates of the structural stock coefficient (b) for almost all of the
non-durable consumer goods, including cigarettes, they examined.
Mullahy (1985) took a similar approach in his empirical examination of cigarette
demand using US survey data. In his model, the stock of past cigarette consumption has a
negative impact on the production of commodities such as health and the satisfaction
received from current smoking. Mullahy used a two-part model to estimate cigarette
demand, as well as instrumental variables methods to account for the unobserved
individual heterogeneity likely to be correlated with the stock of past consumption.
Mullahy found strong support for the hypothesis that cigarette smoking is an addictive
behavior, as shown by the positive and significant estimates he obtained for the addictive
stock in both the smoking participation and conditional demand equations. His estimates
for price are quite similar to those obtained by Lewit and Coate (1982), with the overall
price elasticity of demand centered on –0.47. In addition, Mullahy estimated that men
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were more price-responsive than women (total price elasticities of –0.56 and –0.39,
respectively).
Finally, using an interaction between the addictive stock and price, Mullahy concluded
that more-addicted smokers (defined as those with a larger addictive stock) were less
responsive to price than their less-addicted counterparts. Using an approach that
combined aspects of the Houthakker and Taylor model with Deaton and uellbauer’s
(1980) Almost Ideal Demand System, Jones (1989) explicitly modeled the acquired
tolerance characteristic of addictive consumption.
Tolerance, in his model, is captured by replacing the money prices of addictive goods,
including cigarettes, with their shadow prices, which include a variety of other costs
associated with addictive consumption, including future health consequences and reduced
productivity. Jones used quarterly data from the UK to estimate this model for cigarettes
and various other goods, as well as an alternative model that ignores the addictive or
habitual nature of cigarette demand. He found that the more conventional model, with an
own-price elasticity of cigarette demand of –0.29, provided a better statistical fit than the
habit model, with an own-price elasticity of –0.60. Nonetheless, Jones concluded that
addiction was an important factor in cigarette smoking, speculating that the effects of
withdrawal are more important than those of tolerance.
In a model reminiscent of the partial adjustment process described by Marshall
(1920), Baltagi and Levin (1986) estimated cigarette demand using a time-series of
annual state-cross-sections for the period 1964–80. In their model, changes in cigarette
consumption over time depend on the divergence between ‘desired’ cigarette
consumption and actual consumption, where desired consumption depends on prices,
income, current and lagged advertising, and other factors.
They estimated a coefficient on lagged cigarette consumption of 0.9, which they interpret
as evidence of addiction, while estimating an own-price elasticity of cigarette demand of
–0.22.
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2.3.3 Rational-addiction models:
Several researchers have modeled addiction as a rational behavior. In this context,
rationality simply implies that individuals incorporate the interdependence between past,
current, and future consumption into their utility-maximization process. This is in
contrast to the assumption, implicit in myopic models of addictive behavior, that future
implications are ignored when making current decisions.
In other words, myopic behavior implies an infinite discounting of the future, while
rational behavior implies that future implications are considered, while not ruling out a
relatively high discount rate. Several of the rational-addiction models, including those of
Lluch (1974), Spinnewyn (1981), and Boyer (1983), assume that tastes are endogenous.
These models build on the significant contributions of Ryder and Heal (1973), Boyer
(1978), and others in the optimal growth literature who have developed endogenous taste
models with rational behavior.
Spinnewyn (1981) and Phlips and Spinnewyn (1982) argued that incorporating rational
decision-ma ing into models of habit formation results in models that are ‘formally
equivalent to models without habit formation’ (Spinnewyn p. 2). This
observational equivalence is obtained by redefining wealth and the cost of current
consumption, so as to account for the additional costs associated with the addictive stock.
The demand equations that result are equivalent to those obtained from myopic models of
addictive behavior. Thus, they argue, assuming rationality only leads to unnecessary
complications.
This assertion was challenged by Pashardes (1986) in his empirical test of the myopic
versus rational models in the context of the Almost Ideal Demand System. In his model,
myopic and rational demand equations are the limiting cases of a more general model. In
the context of his general model, Pashardes derived demand equations for a rational
consumer in which current consumption is determined by past consumption and current
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preferences with full knowledge about the impact of current decisions on the future costs
of consumption.
He then tested for rational and myopic behavior using British data for nine groups of
commodities, including tobacco products, alcohol, food, and others, for the period 1947–
80. Pashardes found considerable evidence to support the hypothesis of rational behavior
in general, as well as evidence that cigarette smoking is an addictive behavior. Finally, he
noted that expectations concerning the future price and other costs of consumption played
an important role in consumer behavior. Becker and Murphy (1988) similarly rejected the
notion that myopic behavior is empirically indistinguishable from rational behavior in
their theory of rational addiction.
They assumed that individuals consistently maximize utility over their life-cycle, taking
into account the future consequences of their choices. At any point in time t, an
individual’s utility U(t) depends on current addictive consumption (t) current
consumption of a composite of non-addictive consumption, Y(t), and the stock of past
consumption, S(t):
U(t ) = U[C(t ), Y(t ), S(t )]. (5.4)
They assumed that U(t) is a strongly concave function of C, Y, and S, and that the
lifetime utility function is separable over time in C,Y, and S, but not in C and Y alone.
Tolerance is incorporated by assuming that the marginal utility of the addictive stock is
negative. Reinforcement is modeled by assuming that an increase in the addictive stock
raises the marginal utility of current addictive consumption. Finally, eqn 5.4 captures
withdrawal, since total utility falls with the cessation of addictive consumption. Becker
and Murphy define the stock accumulation process as:
∂S(t ) ∂t = (t ) - dS(t ) - h[D(t )]. (5.5)
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This is comparable to the stock accumulation process described in other models of
addiction, with the exception of the D(t) term representing endogenous attempts to reduce
the addictive stock.
Maximizing lifetime utility subject to an appropriate budget constraint and the stock
accumulation process can be described by eqn 5.5 yields the following first order
condition for the addictive good:
UC (t ) = mpC (t ), (5.6)
where m is the marginal utility of wealth and pC(t) is the full price of the addictive good,
which depends on the money price of the good and the future utility costs (or shadow
price) of the addictive stock. For harmful addictions, the full price of addictive
consumption exceeds its money price due to the effects of tolerance and the health
consequences of consumption, for example. Moreover, the full price is lower as
depreciation on the addictive stock is faster or as the rate of time-preference is higher.
Becker and Murphy (1988) and Becker et al. (1991) developed several hypotheses from
this basic model.
First addictive consumption displays ‘adjacent complementarity’ that is, due to
reinforcement, the quantities of the addictive good consumed in different time periods are
complements. As a result, current consumption of the addictive good will be inversely
related not only to the current price of the good but also to all past and future prices.
Consequently, the long-run effect of a permanent change in price will exceed the short-
run effect. In addition, price responsiveness varies with time-preference: addicts with
higher discount rates will be relatively more responsive to changes in money price than
those with lower discount rates. The opposite will be true with respect to the effects of
information concerning the future consequences of addictive consumption. Thus, the
model suggests that younger, less educated persons and those on lower incomes will be
relatively more responsive to changes in the money price of cigarettes, while older, more
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educated persons and those on higher incomes will be relatively more responsive to new
information on the health consequences of cigarette smoking.
Strong adjacent complementarity, reflecting strong addiction, can lead to unstable steady
states in the Becker and Murphy model. This is a key feature of their rational addiction
theory helping to e plain the binge behavior and ‘cold tur ey’ quit behavior observed
among addicts. Furthermore, these unstable steady states imply that there will be a
bimodal distribution of consumption, again something that is observed for many
addictive goods. In addition Bec er and urphy’s model implies that temporary events,
including price reductions, peer pressure, or stressful events, can lead to permanent
addictions.
Given a quadratic utility function (which has the useful property that the first order
conditions for each of the arguments are linear) and the individual’s rate of time
preference, s, being equal to the market interest rate.
As Becker et al. (1994) noted, the positive past and future price effects seem
contradictory, given the discussion of adjacent complementarity. However, eqn 5.7 holds
past and future consumption constant, eliminating the mechanism through which past and
future prices affect current consumption. If past consumption did not change as past
prices rose, then some other factor must have led to an increase in past consumption,
offsetting the decrease caused by the price increase. This increase in past consumption is
what causes current consumption to be positively related to past price when past and
future consumption are held constant. For addictive goods, eqn 5.7 implies that current
consumption is positively related to past consumption, with the degree of addiction
reflected by a3.
The Becker and Murphy rational-addiction model has several interesting implications
with respect to the effects of price on demand for an addictive good.
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Several other applications of the Becker and Murphy model have employed aggregate
time-series data for various countries or other jurisdictions. Keeler et al. (1993), using
data from California, Pekurinen (1991), using data for Finland, and Bardsley and
Olekalns (1998), with data for Australia, produced estimates consistent with the
hypothesis of rational addiction.
Duffy (1996), Cameron (1997), and Conniffe (1995), using annual time-series data for
the United Kingdom, Greece, and Ireland, respectively, found little support for the
rational-addiction model. However, the latter two studies were limited by the relatively
small number of observations available for their analyses, while all three have problems
resulting from the use of several highly correlated regressors.
Finally, Douglas (1998) used hazard models to examine the determinants of smoking
initiation and cessation in the context of the Becker and Murphy (1988) rational addiction
model. In contrast to his finding that price does not significantly affect the hazard of
smoking initiation, Douglas concluded that increases in price significantly increase the
likelihood (hazard) of smoking cessation. He estimated a price elasticity for the duration
of the smoking habit of 1.07 with respect to future price, consistent with the hypothesis of
rational addiction; paradoxically, past and current prices were not found to have a
statistically significant effect on cessation. Similarly, his parametric and non-parametric
results imply that the hazard of smoking cessation has positive duration dependence; a
finding Douglas suggested is consistent with rational addiction in that the rational smoker
will discount future health costs less as they become more imminent.” (Chaloupka, F. J.,
Tauras, J. A., & Grossman, M. 2000)
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3 Chapter Three:
3.1 Study Design
This research was based on a cross-sectional survey and the researcher sporadically and
randomly visited Khat chewing cafes and Khat retail shops gathering data from Khat
addicts and users.
This study used both qualitative and quantitative methods in a descriptive and
explanatory process of objectivity.
3.1.1 Sampling Procedure
A random sample of employed and married male khat chewers aged 18 years and above,
was undertaken through this study.
3.1.2 Population:
The total number of employed males in Hargiesa area is 16,882 according to International
Labour Organization (ILO, 2012). This study targeted a sub-population of 40 individuals
that share all the above mentioned characteristics.
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3.1.3 Sample frame:
The sample size of this survey was 33 individuals with a confidence interval of 7
and a confidence level of 95%. The researcher has used this below formula to
drive sample size.
ss =
Z 2 * (p) * (1-p)
c 2
Equation 1
Where:
Z = Z value (1.96 for 95% confidence level)
p = percentage picking a choice, expressed as decimal
(.5 used for sample size needed)
c = confidence interval, expressed as decimal
(e.g., .07 = ±7)
Table 3.1 Population and sample proportion:
S/N Hargeisa Male Married Khat Employed Total Sample
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Residential
areas
addicts
1 26 June 3 2 2 2 9 8
2 Kood-Buur 3 2 3 3 11 9
3 A/Dhagax 2 2 1 2 7 5
4 M/Haybe 3 1 1 1 6 5
5 G/Libaax 2 1 2 2 7 6
Total 13 8 9 10 40 33
Source: Own calculation
3.2 Data type and sources
Primary and secondary data were both employed. This was to ensure that the relevant
information necessary for the study have been obtained. Primary data was collected
through questionnaires and interviews by contacting males in Khat chewing cafes and
shops by demanding their full consent and information related to their Khat consumption
patterns and other relevant information. The secondary data was obtained from other
sources such as; journal articles, which are relevant to the study, past research work,
dissertation and thesis, which carries the necessary information relevant and important to
the study. In addition, cross- sectional data was gathered which we regard it the only
obtainable type of data in our distinct circumstance.
3.3 Data Collection Instrument
The researcher uses a well-structured multiple choice survey questionnaire with some
direct questions to gather the necessary data for this study. The questionnaire contains six
main parts each part haves several questions representing the main objectives of the
study. The purpose of this questionnaire is to assess the relationships and
interdependence of the different variables of this study, in particular, the instrument is
designed to gather data relating the impact of Khat addiction on consumer behaviour.
Hypnotic Consumption: A study on the impact of Khat addiction on consumer behaviour.
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The first part of the questionnaire focuses on participants personal details like age,
employment status, and marital status. The second part focuses on khat usage patterns
and how time is related. The third part focuses on the degree of Khat dependence. Part
four puts some emphases on income level and expenditure behaviour. Part five
concentrates on the participant’s familiarity with adverse economic, health and social
effect of khat addiction while part six specially targets the information related to
hypothetical consumption decisions if Khat prices change.
3.4 Data analyses and interpretation
The researcher has used descriptive methods for data amylases, elaborating and
discovering the inter-relationships of the different variables and how one impact on the
other. The researcher has also used charts to present finding of this study.
Nonetheless, the researcher has employed one of the three relevant rational addiction
models used for abnormal consumer behaviour and its consequences.
Other relevant explanations and analyses were employed to fully capture the main themes
of the findings and by doing so the author drew conclusion based on these analysis.
Hypnotic Consumption: A study on the impact of Khat addiction on consumer behaviour.
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4 Chapter Four
4.1 Findings and Analyses
This finding represents many weeks of field investigation depicted in the results of our
questionnaire which we intended to measure the impact of Khat chewing on consumer
behaviour. Here we present and discuss the prevalence, relationships and impacts of the
variables of this study. This section presents the answers of our research questions and
the outcome of study objectives. The sample was drawn from all five districts of Hargeisa
city randomly.
4.2 Sample Characteristics
Table 4.1 Employment status:
Frequency Percent Valid Percent
Valid Employed 28 84.8 84.8
Unemployed 5 15.2 15.2
Total 33 100.0 100.0
Source: Own finding.
As shown in table 2.0, almost 84.8% of the respondents were employed while only 15.2%
were unemployed. This fact anchors the any other relative facts found during this
research, like income level, expenditure and income allocation patterns.
Hypnotic Consumption: A study on the impact of Khat addiction on consumer behaviour.
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Table 4.2 Respondent’s age range:
Frequency Percent Valid Percent
Valid 15-25 7 21.2 21.2
25-35 18 54.5 54.5
35-above 8 24.2 24.2
Total 33 100.0 100.0
Source: Own finding.
Here, 54.5% of the respondents are in the age range of 25 – 35 which shows that the bulk
of our respondents are mature enough to have a rational way of thinking. 21.2% of our
respondents were under the age of 25 years old while 24.2% were above the age of 35.
This result shows that youngsters and above 35 adult’s participation was low in contrast
to the 25 to 35 age range. As we were targeting Khat chewing cafes (Maqaaxiiyo), Khat
shops (Kolay) and some random houses and businesses; this age gap can be interpreted as
a manifestation of Khat chewer’s normal age range. For the youngsters they are usually
not independent from their families so cultural obstacles might hinder if they had any
Khat chewing desires while the majority of above 35 adults might have either quitted or
never addicted to Khat for difference reasons.
Table 4.3 Respondent’s marital status:
Frequency Percent Valid Percent
Valid Married 25 75.8 75.8
Single 8 24.2 24.2
Total 33 100.0 100.0
Source: Own finding.
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This table shows that 75.8% of our respondents were married while only 24.2% reported
as of being singles. This result show that the vast majority of our respondents were head
of households and in addition to the high employment level it makes them heads of
households which necessitates them to take responsibility thus allocate income wisely as
they are supposed to be.
Table 4.4 Khat chewing:
Frequency Percent Valid Percent
Valid Chew Khat 29 87.9 87.9
Don't chew Khat 4 12.1 12.1
Total 33 100.0 100.0
Source: Own finding.
Table 4.5 If chewing Khat is regular :
Frequency Percent Valid Percent
Valid 4 12.1 12.1
Agree 24 72.7 72.7
Disagree 5 15.2 15.2
Total 33 100.0 100.0
Source: Own finding.
Table 5.0 shows the percentage of our respondents who are Khat chewers. Almost 88%
of them reported that they chew Khat while only 12% reported that they do not chew
Khat. When asked on why they chew or not chew Khat, respondents made different
feedbacks, the majority of chewers asserted that they get happiness and a high from
chewing Khat. This response is very typical and predictable but others claimed that Khat
relieves them from feeling stress and despair. Those who don’t chew Khat justified
choice on different reasons. Some of them justified it using cultural and religious reasons
while others used economical and health related justifications. The interesting thing here
is that in addition to the previous result, table 6.0, shows that the majority of Khat
chewers, a 72% of the valid responds chew Khat on regular basis not haphazardly.
Hypnotic Consumption: A study on the impact of Khat addiction on consumer behaviour.
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This result adds meaning on the previous results and paints a big picture. This means that
the majority of our respondents are in the age range of 25 to 35, employed, head of
households and chew Khat regularly.
This result acts as a concrete basis on this study and helps draw a meaningful conclusion.
It also helps us to understand the wider context of Khat chewers in Hargiesa.
Table 4.6 If Khat an important part of respondent:
Frequency Percent Valid Percent
Valid 4 12.1 12.1
Agree 25 75.8 75.8
Disagree 4 12.1 12.1
Total 33 100.0 100.0
Source: Own finding.
Table 4.7 If Khat is equally important as food:
Frequency Percent Valid Percent
Valid 4 12.1 12.1
Agree 9 27.3 27.3
Disagree 20 60.6 60.6
Total 33 100.0 100.0
Source: Own finding.
Table 7.0, shows the attitudes of Khat chewers towards Khat. A majority of 76% of the
respondents agreed that Khat is an important part of their life. This finding shows a
positive view towards Khat in the perspective of Khat chewers. This majority justified
their attitudes towards Khat on different bases. Ironically, some of them used religious
justifications claiming that Khat leaves are sacred by Allah and that Muslim saints of
Qadiryah used to chew Khat for rituals. The mainstream religious discourse in
Hypnotic Consumption: A study on the impact of Khat addiction on consumer behaviour.
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Somaliland rejects these sorts of claims portraying them as baseless Khuraafah or dogma.
A slight minority of 12% of Khat chewers disagreed with the suggestion.
On the other hand, table 8.0, shows that a majority of Khat chewers, 60% disagree with
the suggestion that Khat is equally important as other food while a slight minority
reported that they do agree with the suggestion. This result represents the comparability
of Khat chewing and consuming food and the majority of our respondents took a sane
stance on this dilemma.
Table 4.8 If expenditure of on Khat consumption is waste of time and money
Frequency Percent Valid Percent
Valid 4 12.1 12.1
Strongly agree 20 60.6 60.6
Agree 5 15.2 15.2
Disagree 2 6.1 6.1
Strongly disagree 2 6.1 6.1
Total 33 100.0 100.0
Source: Own finding.
Table 9.0, Is the one of several variables that we used to measure the rationality and
attitudes of Khat chewers. Respondents were asked whether or not they view Khat
consumption as a waste of time and money. A majority of 60% responded strong
agreement with the suggestion while a small minority slightly agreed or disagreed on
different levels.
Respondents were as ed if they agree why they chew Khat while they believe that it’s a
waste of time and money, the majority of them failed to answer the question while others
admitted that their behaviour is irrational due to the addiction.
All in all, this result shows a clear inconsistency of preferences and it manifests a case of
cognitive dissonance.
Hypnotic Consumption: A study on the impact of Khat addiction on consumer behaviour.
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4.3 Descriptive analyses
This section presents graphic results of numeric and scale variables followed by
descriptive analyses. Here we have discussed histogram data with statistical results.
Interpretation and discussion follows where applicable. These histograms show the
frequency of respondents and how they responded to the questions.
Figure 4-1 Number of past years in Khat chewing:
Source: Own finding.
Figure 4.1, shows the statistical results of the frequency of this variable, the number of
past years that a Khat chewer used to chew and the frequency of respondents. A 2.86
mean shows that respondents are slightly normally distributed in close to 3 years of Khat
chewing past.
Hypnotic Consumption: A study on the impact of Khat addiction on consumer behaviour.
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Figure 4-2 Number of daily hourse spent in chewing Khat
Source: Own finding.
In this figure, the responses of the question of the number of daily hours that Khat
chewers chew Khat are normally distributed in 3.48 by which we can detect a slight
skewedness to the right. This means that in general respondents chew Khat more than 3
hours per day.
Hypnotic Consumption: A study on the impact of Khat addiction on consumer behaviour.
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Figure 4-3 The degree of expected hardship if Khat chewer quite from Khat chewing
Source: Own finding.
Figure 4.3, measures the how the respondents reported degree of hardship that
withdrawal might cause. A mean close to 4 from a scale of 1 to 5 means that the majority
of respondents think that withdrawal from Khat would cause hardship to them. As you
see, the graph is skewed in the right and that is evidence that fear from withdrawal
consequences has a significant effect on the Khat chewing habit. Thus we argue that it
enforces Khat chewers to sustain chewing causing addiction.
Hypnotic Consumption: A study on the impact of Khat addiction on consumer behaviour.
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Figure 4-4 Degree of perceived dependence on Khat on Khat chewing
Source: Own finding.
Figure 4.4, shows how the respondents are dependent on Khat. As you see, the mean is
3.69 which skewed the graph into the right direction. This also shows that more Khat
chewers are dependent on Khat which is an explanation of how addict respondents are to
Khat.
Hypnotic Consumption: A study on the impact of Khat addiction on consumer behaviour.
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Figure 4-5 Respondent's monthly income level:
Source: Own finding.
Figure 4.5, illustrates the monthly income level of our respondents. The majority of our
respondents have income level of $43 it’s somewhat normally distributed as the
standard deviation is $124.
Hypnotic Consumption: A study on the impact of Khat addiction on consumer behaviour.
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Figure 4-6 Level of income allocated for family by the Khat chewer
Source: Own finding.
Figure 4.6, illustrates the portion of monthly income that Khat chewers allocate to their
families. This result is striking as the mean here is $205 and the standard deviation is
$135 it shows that the income allocation is not normally distributed and the skewedness
in inclined in the left side of the graph. This means that the majority of Khat chewers
allocate less money for their families in contrast to their income level.
Hypnotic Consumption: A study on the impact of Khat addiction on consumer behaviour.
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Figure 4-7 Level of monthly Khat expenditure by the Khat chewer
Source: Own finding.
This figure illustrates the portion of monthly income that Khat chewers allocate it for
Khat consumption. We have a mean of $222 and a standard deviation of $109 which
shows that it’s normally distributed. If we compare between this mean and the previous
one in figure 6, we can see that this later allocation for Khat is larger than the amount of
income allocated for family. Though the majority of the respondents seem to balance the
expenditure between family and Khat consumption yet this balance is by itself a
manifestation of economic wastage but at least it explains how these Khat chewers
sustain marriage.
Hypnotic Consumption: A study on the impact of Khat addiction on consumer behaviour.
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Figure 4-8 Degree of Khat chewer's familiarity with adverse health effects from Khat chewing
Source: Own finding.
This figure illustrates the respondent’s degree of familiarity with adverse health effects
of Khat. Although a mean of 2.45 shows a perfectly distributed graph yet as you can see,
the graph is slightly skewed in the left side which shows that a slight majority of our
respondents are somehow unfamiliar with the adverse health consequences of Khat
chewing. This might be due to lack of awareness or lower education.
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Figure 4-9 Degree of Khat chewer's familiarity with adverse economic effects of Khat chewing
Source: Own finding.
Figure 4.9, illustrates how respondents are familiar with adverse economic effects of
Khat. As the result shows, the mean is exactly 4 while standard deviation is 0.9. In
addition to the right side skewed graph the mean demonstrates that the majority of Khat
chewers are highly familiar with adverse economic effects of Khat. This is not surprising
compared to figure 8, health effects of Khat might take long time to witness but the
economic problems would be on daily basis and every Khat chewer with a low income
level definitely realizes that.
Hypnotic Consumption: A study on the impact of Khat addiction on consumer behaviour.
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Figure 4-10 If Khat prices go up by fifty percent and respondent’s income level remains
constant the Khat addict would spend a percentage of money on Khat relevant to price change
Source: Own finding.
Figure 4. 0 e amines the respondent’s responses to a hypothetical price change on Khat.
Many respondents as a mean of 24 illustrates, have responded to 50% rise in Khat prices
by sacrificing almost 24% more money to buy Khat while their income is constant. This
shows a degree of rationality as they cut some of their consumption and a proof for the
addiction. A slight minority reported that they would expend the same percentage that
Khat prices rise. But as long as this is hypothetical, actual responses might differ. But this
hypothetical decrease of demand is supported by a relative empirical finding on the
demand of cigarettes and the impact of addiction on the rationality of the consumer by
(Young, 1983).
Hypnotic Consumption: A study on the impact of Khat addiction on consumer behaviour.
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Figure 4-11 If Khat prices go down by fifty percent and the respondent’s income level remains
constant the Khat addict would spend a percentage on Khat relevant to price change
Source: Own finding.
Figure 4.11, illustrates a normally distributed graph of respondents and their responses
when asked a hypothetical question which says; if Khat prices decrease 50% how much
percent would you increase your consumption? The majority responded that they would
increase as much as 30% as you can see from the mean. The interpretation of this result is
that the desire of Khat chewers to chew more Khat is as high as their demand illustrates.
Hypnotic Consumption: A study on the impact of Khat addiction on consumer behaviour.
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4.4 Khat addiction and consumer behaviour
During our investigation and analysis we have used several questions to measure
addiction variable and consumption behavior variable respectively. For addiction
measuring, we have asked our respondents several questions and the results were
illustrated in chapter four figures of 1, 3 and 4. Figure one, illustrated the number of past
years that the responder used to chew Khat while figure two was focused on drawing data
relating to withdrawal of Khat. Figure two is the result respondents who reported how
bad life would be if they quite from chewing Khat by depicting their responses in a 1 to 5
number scale. Finally, figure four addresses the outcome of how responders reported
when directly asked to scale the degree of their dependence on Khat in a 1 to 5 number
scale.
Regarding consumption behavior, we have also asked several questions to our
respondents in order to elicit data from them. First of all, we have asked our respondents
their respective monthly income levels. Second, we have asked them the portion of their
income that they allocate both to their families and their Khat consumption budget
respectively. Third, we have asked the number of daily hours that they spend on chewing
khat. Finally we have asked them how they would respond if Khat prices go up in 50% or
go down by 50% and we have analyzed their responses in chapter four especially figure
10 and figure 11.
After we have analyzed rigorously using Pearson Correlation statistics on the nature of
the relationship between Khat addiction and consumer behavior we have found that:
1. The past consumption specified here as the number of past years that the
consumer used to chew Khat has a strong linear and positive relationship of
Hypnotic Consumption: A study on the impact of Khat addiction on consumer behaviour.
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+0.766 with the level of consumer expenditure on Khat. A two tailed
significance test shows a high level of significance of 0.00. This means as the
past consumption increases the consumer is very likely to increase his
consumption of the addictive good. (for further information look Appendix
one, table 7.1)
2. The past consumption specified here as the number of past years that the
consumer used to chew Khat has a moderate negative relationship of about -
0.533 with the level of allocated income for the addict’s family. two tailed
test shows a high significance level of about 0.003. This means the higher the
past consumption the lower the allocated income for the addict’s family. (for
further information look Appendix one, table 7.2)
3. The level of expenditure on Khat by the addict has a moderate negative
relationship of -0.508 with the level of income that the addict allocates for his
family. A two tailed test shows a high significance level of 0.005. This means
the higher the Khat addict expends on Khat the lower he allocates money for
his family. (for further information look Appendix one, table 7.3)
4. The past consumption specified here as the number of past years that the
consumer used to chew Khat has a very strong positive and linear relationship
of +0.848 with the level of demand for Khat if prices rise. Two tailed test
shows a high significance level of 0. (for further information look Appendix
one, table 7.4)
4.5 Khat addiction and consumer rationality
Hypnotic Consumption: A study on the impact of Khat addiction on consumer behaviour.
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After we examined the relationship between levels of expenditure on Khat and the level
of addict’s information of the adverse health consequences of Khat addiction we have
found a moderate positive linear relationship of +0.543. This is due to inconsistent
preferences and it shows an imperfectly rational behavior and the explanation is that
addiction is causing this behavior as we discussed before. Also lack of health related
awareness has something to do with these results. (for further information look Appendix
one, table 7.5)
On the other hand, the relationship between levels of expenditure on Khat and the level of
addict’s information of the adverse economic consequences of Khat addiction we have
found that there is a weak positive relationship of about +0.159 which means an
imperfectly rational behavior. The explanation of this behavior is that though addicts are
pretty familiar with bad economic repercussions of Khat addiction yet addiction the
strong effects of dependence prevail.
5 Chapter five:
5.1 5.1 Discussion, implications and Conclusion
Hypnotic Consumption: A study on the impact of Khat addiction on consumer behaviour.
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Khat addiction heavily affects and into a large e tent determines Khat addict’s
consumption, expenditure patterns and family income allocation decisions. The
underlining reason for this is the dilemma of competing sources of utility that the Khat
addicts face during their lifetime. As the addiction period increases Khat addicts
accumulate a bigger utility stock and as we have seen in the literature review of the
cigarette addiction this anchors addict’s tolerance, reinforcement and fear of withdrawal.
The issue of modeling drug addiction and its relationship with consumer behavior has
long been ignored and this paper adds a new emphasis on a small literature that has been
written about modeling cigarette addiction and its repercussions on consumer behavior.
Our finding principally coincides with Schelling’s model of the imperfectly rational
addiction model yet it slightly diverts from it as we didn’t use assumptions of the past and
future conflict of perferences as Schelling did, but we have compared the sort of conflict
of preferences that arises when the Khat addict is faced by the dilemma of allocating
income either for his family or for his Khat consumption.
We have also inspected the kind of inconsistency of preferences that the addict faces
when his information on the negative consequences of his addiction are compared with
the short run utility that he derives from Khat addiction. This means that Khat addicts
retain some degree of rationality and this was evidenced by how Khat addicts responded
to the hypothetical price changes through which they showed a moderate degree of
sensitivity and reaction when they have thought about Khat price changes.
5.2 Implications and recommendation
The findings of this paper have policy implications as the government can predict the
possible effects of policies that are designed to fight with Khat addiction and deal with its
negative complication on both the society in general and the economy in particular.
Hypnotic Consumption: A study on the impact of Khat addiction on consumer behaviour.
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The findings of this paper indicate that if excise taxes are increased on Khat imports the
demand of Khat would decrease though not as much as normal goods. Hence, increasing
excise tax would help contain the problem of Khat addiction into some extent.
Henceforth, we are recommending for the government to increase excise taxes on Khat
imports besides other methods to contain and cure the problem of Khat addiction in
Somalialnd based on the scientific findings of this study.
5.3 Conclusion
Here we argue that the imperfect rational addiction model is the perfect fit for the
abnormal consumer behavior induced by Khat addiction. We have found that Khat
addicts consume Khat to get high or a feeling of happiness or relief of stress. This is due
to the dopamine hormone release in the brain after chewing Khat. On this basis, Khat
addicts derive a utility from Khat consumption thus their consumption is basically
rational. But on the other hand, Khat addicts ignore relevant information on the adverse
health and economic effects of Khat addiction hence Khat addicts behave irrationally.
Henceforth, we have found that Khat addicts hold inconsistent preferences and behave in
an imperfectly rational way.
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Appendix One: Correlation Tables
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Table 5.1 Correlation between past Khat chewing & level of spending on Khat
Correlations Number of years that
you were chewing
Khat is?
You expend your
income on Khat as
much as?
Number of years that you were
chewing Khat is?
Pearson Correlation 1 .766**
Sig. (2-tailed) .000
N 29 29
You expend your income on Khat as
much as?
Pearson Correlation .766** 1
Sig. (2-tailed) .000
N 29 29
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).
Source: Own finding.
Table 5.2 Correlation between past Khat chewing & income allocated for family
Correlations Number of years that
you were chewing
Khat is?
You allocate your
family as much as?
Number of years that you were
chewing Khat is?
Pearson Correlation 1 -.533**
Sig. (2-tailed) .003
N 29 29
You allocate your family as much as? Pearson Correlation -.533** 1
Sig. (2-tailed) .003
N 29 29
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).
Source: Own finding.
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Table 5.3 Correlation between spending on Khat & income allocated for the family
Correlations
You allocate your
family as much as?
You expend your
income on Khat as
much as?
You allocate your family as much as? Pearson Correlation 1 -.508**
Sig. (2-tailed) .005
N 29 29
You expend your income on Khat as
much as?
Pearson Correlation -.508** 1
Sig. (2-tailed) .005
N 29 29
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).
Source: Own finding.
Table 5.4 Correlation between past Khat chewing & response to Khat price rise
Correlations
Number of years that
you were chewing
Khat is?
If Khat prices go up
by fifty percent and
your income level
remains constant you
would sacrifice as
much money on Khat
as?
Number of years that you were
chewing Khat is?
Pearson Correlation 1 .848**
Sig. (2-tailed) .000
N 29 29
If Khat prices go up by fifty percent
and your income level remains
constant you would sacrifice as much
money on Khat as?
Pearson Correlation .848** 1
Sig. (2-tailed) .000
N 29 29
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).
Source: Own finding.
Hypnotic Consumption: A study on the impact of Khat addiction on consumer behaviour.
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Table 5.5 Correlation between Khat spending & information on adverse health and economic
effects related to Khat
Correlations
You expend your
income on Khat as
much as?
You are familiar with
adverse health effects
that are related to
Khat? Select
familiarity scale:
You are familiar with
adverse economic
effects of Khat?
You expend your income on Khat as
much as?
Pearson Correlation 1 .543** .159
Sig. (2-tailed) .002 .409
N 29 29 29
You are familiar with adverse health
effects that are related to Khat?
Select familiarity scale:
Pearson Correlation .543** 1 .049
Sig. (2-tailed) .002 .801
N 29 29 29
You are familiar with adverse
economic effects of Khat?
Pearson Correlation .159 .049 1
Sig. (2-tailed) .409 .801
N 29 29 29
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).
Source: Own finding.
Hypnotic Consumption: A study on the impact of Khat addiction on consumer behaviour.
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Appendix Two: Survey Questionnaire Consent Letter
SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE
FOR THE ASSESSMENT OF THE IMPACT OF KHAT ADDICTION ON CONSUMER
BEHAVIOR
I am an undergraduate student at the University of Hargeisa. My name is Khaled
Mohamoud Abdilahi Undergrad.
I am preparing my thesis project in the faculty of economics. As a graduation
requirement, I am working on a thesis project whereby I need to collect information on
how Khat addiction impacts consumer behavior of employed and married males in
Hargeisa area. I am therefore asking if you would agree to participate in my research by
answering a questionnaire.
The questionnaire has 10 questions and should take about 5 minutes to complete.
You do not have to participate at all, or, even if you agree now, you can terminate your
participation at any time without prejudice. You also do not have to answer individual
questions you don’t want to answer. Your name will not be attached to the questionnaire
and I will ensure that your participation remains confidential.
I can tell you that your response may be included in the paper I will write at the
conclusion of this project; however, your responses would be anonymous and nobody
could connect your responses with you as an individual.
A benefit you may experience by participating in this study is greater knowledge of how
Khat addiction might impact your general consumption behavior.
Hypnotic Consumption: A study on the impact of Khat addiction on consumer behaviour.
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By participating in this study, you risk being upset or made uncomfortable by the
questions asked. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to instantly tell
to me.
____________________________________ ________________
Participant signature Date
____________________________________ _________________
Researcher Signature Date
Hypnotic Consumption: A study on the impact of Khat addiction on consumer behaviour.
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Appendix Three: Survey Questionnaire
SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE
FOR THE ASSESSMENT OF THE IMPACT OF KHAT ADDICTION ON CONSUMER
BEHAVIOR
Supervisor: Abdishakur Mohamed Hussein Researcher: Khaled Mohamoud Abdilahi
Institution: University of Hargeisa Date: August- 2015
Period: August- 2015 Signature:
Instructions
Please carefully read the questions then select the choice that best aligns with your experience and reality and kindly answer the questions:
N.B: 1 – 5 Scales are ascending so the higher you agree the larger number you choose.
Part I: Individual characteristics
1) Your age is between:
a. 15 - 25
b. 25 - 35
c. 35 - above
2) Your employment status
a. Employed
b. Unemployed
3) Your marital status
a. Married
b. Single
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Part II: Khat usage and time
Why did you choose that answer?
1) You chew Khat
a. Agree
b. Disagree
2) You regularly chew Khat
a. Agree
b. Disagree
3) Number of years that you were chewing Khat is?
a. 1
b. 2
c. 3
d. 4
e. 5
f. 6
4) Number of hours you chew Khat per day is?:
a. 1
b. 2
c. 3
d. 4
e. 5
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Part III: Khat dependence
Explain why you think so?
If you agree what kind of hardship you think you will face if you quite Khat chewing?
1) Khat is an important part of your life?
a. Agree
b. Disagree
2) It would be hard if you try to quite chewing Khat? : Select hardship scale 1-5.
a. 1
b. 2
c. 3
d. 4
e. 5
3) Khat is equally important as other food?
a. Agree
b. Disagree
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Part IV: Income level and expenditure on Khat
Explain if you think your consumption behavior is rational or not?
4) Your dependence on Khat is? Select dependence scale 1 – 5.
a. 1
b. 2
c. 3
d. 4
e. 5
5) Your income per month is between?
a. < $100
b. $100
b. $200
c. $300
d. $400
e. > $500
6)
You allocate your family as much as?
a. $
7) You expend your income on Khat as much as?
a. $
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Part V: Information on adverse effects of Khat addiction
If agree, why you prefer Khat chewing over your health and fitness?
If agree, why did you waste your money and time?
8) You are familiar with health effects that are related to Khat addiction? Scale how much
you agree 1 - 5
a. 1
b. 2
c. 3
d. 4
e. 5
9) You are familiar with adverse economic effects of Khat? Scale how much you agree 1 - 5
a. 1
b. 2
c. 3
d. 4
e. 5
10) Expenditure on Khat consumption is economically waste of time and money
a. Agree
b. Disagree
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Part VI: Hypothetical price change and its effect on Khat consumption
11) If khat prices go up by 50% and your income level remains constant you would sacrifice
as much money to buy specific amount of Khat as?
a. 20%
b. 30%
c. 40%
d. 50%
12) If Khat prices go down by 50% you would increase your consumption of Khat as much as?
a. 20%
b. 30%
c. 40%
d. 50%
13) If Khat prices go up suddenly and your income level remains constant you would cut your
consumption of Khat?
a. 1
b. 2
c. 3
d. 4
e. 5