Submission Type
Event
Expected Graduation Date
2011
Location
Center for Natural Sciences, Illinois Wesleyan University
Start Date
4-9-2011 2:35 PM
End Date
4-9-2011 3:35 PM
Disciplines
Economics
Abstract
In recent years, the social and legal environments surrounding firearms have changed drastically. This study aims to discover if gun control legislation is an effective deterrent mechanism for crime by constructing an index that systematically compares gun laws at the state level and scores them on 30 weighted criteria in six different categories. The index is constructed for 10 high regulation states and 1 0 low regulation states for the years 1 996 to 2005, and using panel data and Ordinary Least Squares regressions, the paper analyzes the relationship between gun control legislation and crime rates, while also accounting for socioeconomic and demographic effects. This study finds that the gun control index has a negative and statistically significant effect on violent crime rates.
JEL Classifications: H l l (Structure, Scope, and Performance of Government), K42 (Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law), R59 (Regional Government Analysis: Other)
Included in
Evaluating the Effectiveness of Gun Control Laws in the United States
Center for Natural Sciences, Illinois Wesleyan University
In recent years, the social and legal environments surrounding firearms have changed drastically. This study aims to discover if gun control legislation is an effective deterrent mechanism for crime by constructing an index that systematically compares gun laws at the state level and scores them on 30 weighted criteria in six different categories. The index is constructed for 10 high regulation states and 1 0 low regulation states for the years 1 996 to 2005, and using panel data and Ordinary Least Squares regressions, the paper analyzes the relationship between gun control legislation and crime rates, while also accounting for socioeconomic and demographic effects. This study finds that the gun control index has a negative and statistically significant effect on violent crime rates.
JEL Classifications: H l l (Structure, Scope, and Performance of Government), K42 (Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law), R59 (Regional Government Analysis: Other)