Work

Right-to-Carry Laws and Violent Crime: A Comprehensive Assessment Using Panel Data and a State-Level Synthetic Control Analysis

Year: 2017

Type: report

Abstract: This paper uses more complete state panel data ( through 2014) and new statistical techniques to estimate the impact on violent crime when states adopt right-to-carry (RTC) concealed handgun laws.Our preferred panel data regression specification, unlike the statistical model of Lott and Mustard that had previously been offered as evidence of crime-reducing RTC laws, both satisfies the parallel trends assumption and generates statistically significant estimates showing RTC laws increase overall violent crime.Our synthetic control approach also strongly confirms that RTC laws are associated with 13-15 percent higher aggregate violent crime rates ten years after adoption.Using a consensus estimate of the elasticity of crime with respect to incarceration of 0.15, the average RTC state would need to roughly double its prison population to offset the increase in violent crime caused by RTC adoption.

Source: National Bureau of Economic Research

DOI: 10.3386/w23510

Authors: John Donohue, Abhay Aneja, Kyle Weber

Institutions: National Bureau of Economic Research, Columbia University, University of California, Berkeley, Stanford University

Language: English

Topic: Gun Ownership and Violence Research

Subfield: Health

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Peace, justice, and strong institutions, Good health and well-being

Open Access status: green

OpenAlex ID: W2624947673

Cites: 62

Cited by: 82

Related to: 10