This paper presents a comparison of changes in the regulation of addictive behavior. Specifically, it focuses on the regulation of drugs and gambling on the national level in western democracies. The central question is one of patterns of regulatory changes in terms of convergence and divergence across countries and policy sectors. A specific focus will be put on the convergence and divergence of policy mixes. How does the combination of different policy instruments in the regulation of drugs and gambling change over time and differ between countries? How does the policy mix differ between both sectors? This way, we combine a cross-country and cross-sector comparison of regulatory changes in ‘addictive behavior policies’. Systematic comparisons of this kind have so far been neglected. Since both fields of addictive behavior require a similar assessment and weighing of moral principles, arguments of public order and public health as well as economic interests, the comparative analysis of both fields seems particularly promising. Analytically, we assess patterns of regulatory change in terms of permissive and restrictive changes of the supply and demand for drugs and gambling. The paper makes use of data collected in the context of the MORAPOL-project conducted at the University of Konstanz under the leadership of Christoph Knill. Specifically, we use the data for small-n comparative case-studies in which we explore the impact of different explanatory factors, such as religion, institutional design and more policy-specific factors. With this focus, the paper contributes to research interested in comparative public policy in general and to morality policy research in particular.
