IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jpolmo/v44y2022i6p1148-1164.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The effects of mass shootings on gun sales: Motivations, mechanisms, policies and regulations

Author

Listed:
  • Pak, Tae-Young

Abstract

Surges in firearm sales after mass shootings have been well documented in the United States. This study presents three main findings regarding the impact of mass shootings on firearm demand and the moderating roles played by political and regulatory climates. First, mass shootings led to an immediate but temporary increase in gun sales. This effect continued for approximately 3–6 months after the incidents and was larger for shootings with a greater number of fatalities. Second, the association between mass shootings and gun sales was significant only under Democratic presidents. The party affiliation of the state legislature and state-level gun control did not moderate this association. Third, the increased firearm sales after mass shootings did not result in a higher level of firearm ownership. It appeared most purchases were made by current gun owners stockpiling additional firearms, thus indicating the fear of stricter gun control as a likely motivation. This study offers the following policy implications: (a) the public debates concerning gun violence could have the unintended consequence of raising gun demand among current owners, (b) the message of tightening gun control could increase the total stock of firearms in circulation, and (c) the regulations to prevent future mass shootings may be better addressed by the state government as a state-level regulation does not trigger demand response among potential consumers.

Suggested Citation

  • Pak, Tae-Young, 2022. "The effects of mass shootings on gun sales: Motivations, mechanisms, policies and regulations," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 44(6), pages 1148-1164.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jpolmo:v:44:y:2022:i:6:p:1148-1164
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jpolmod.2022.10.005
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0161893822000977
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jpolmod.2022.10.005?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Depetris-Chauvin, Emilio, 2015. "Fear of Obama: An empirical study of the demand for guns and the U.S. 2008 presidential election," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 66-79.
    2. Luca, Michael & Malhotra, Deepak & Poliquin, Christopher, 2020. "The impact of mass shootings on gun policy," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 181(C).
    3. Terry L. Schell & Matthew Cefalu & Beth Ann Griffin & Rosanna Smart & Andrew R. Morral, 2020. "Changes in firearm mortality following the implementation of state laws regulating firearm access and use," Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 117(26), pages 14906-14910, June.
    4. Matthew Lang, 2016. "State Firearm Sales and Criminal Activity: Evidence from Firearm Background Checks," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 83(1), pages 45-68, July.
    5. Ehrlich, Isaac & Saito, Tetsuya, 2010. "Taxing guns vs. taxing crime: An application of the "market for offenses model"," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 32(5), pages 670-689, September.
    6. Jensen Brock & P. Wesley Routon, 2020. "The effect of mass shootings on the demand for guns," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 87(1), pages 50-69, July.
    7. Siegel, M. & Ross, C.S. & King III, C., 2013. "The relationship between gun ownership and firearm homicide rates in the United States, 1981-2010," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 103(11), pages 2098-2105.
    8. Elliot Chau, 2018. "The Effects of Mass Shootings on Gun Sales," Working Papers 1804, College of the Holy Cross, Department of Economics.
    9. repec:aph:ajpbhl:10.2105/ajph.2017.303701_9 is not listed on IDEAS
    10. Cook, Philip J. & Ludwig, Jens, 2006. "The social costs of gun ownership," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(1-2), pages 379-391, January.
    11. Nickell, Stephen J, 1981. "Biases in Dynamic Models with Fixed Effects," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 49(6), pages 1417-1426, November.
    12. Ruddell, Rick & Mays, G. Larry, 2005. "State background checks and firearms homicides," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 33(2), pages 127-136.
    13. Maurizio Porfiri & Raghu Ram Sattanapalle & Shinnosuke Nakayama & James Macinko & Rifat Sipahi, 2019. "Media coverage and firearm acquisition in the aftermath of a mass shooting," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 3(9), pages 913-921, September.
    14. Siegel, M. & Pahn, M. & Xuan, Z. & Ross, C.S. & Galea, S. & Kalesan, B. & Fleegler, E. & Goss, K.A., 2017. "Firearm-related laws in all 50 US States, 1991-2016," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 107(7), pages 1122-1129.
    15. repec:wly:soecon:v:83:1:y:2016:p:45-68 is not listed on IDEAS
    16. Matthew Lang, 2013. "Firearm Background Checks and Suicide," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 123(12), pages 1085-1099, December.
    17. Levin, Andrew & Lin, Chien-Fu & James Chu, Chia-Shang, 2002. "Unit root tests in panel data: asymptotic and finite-sample properties," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 108(1), pages 1-24, May.
    18. Chandler McClellan & Erdal Tekin, 2017. "Stand Your Ground Laws, Homicides, and Injuries," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 52(3), pages 621-653.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Gerdes, Madison B, 2023. "Assessing the relationship between gun ownership and fear of mass shootings," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 336(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Christoph Koenig & David Schindler, 2023. "Impulse Purchases, Gun Ownership, and Homicides: Evidence from a Firearm Demand Shock," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 105(5), pages 1271-1286, September.
    2. Jessica Jumee Kim & Kenneth C. Wilbur, 2022. "Proxies for legal firearm prevalence," Quantitative Marketing and Economics (QME), Springer, vol. 20(3), pages 239-273, September.
    3. Bilgel, Firat, 2020. "State Gun Control Laws, Gun Ownership and the Supply of Homicide Organ Donors," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    4. Koenig, Christoph & Schindler, David, 2018. "Impulse Purchases, Gun Ownership and Homicides : Evidence from a Firearm Demand Shock," Discussion Paper 2018-043, Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research.
    5. Mark Anderson, D. & Sabia, Joseph J. & Tekin, Erdal, 2021. "Child access prevention laws and juvenile firearm-related homicides," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).
    6. Evans, William N. & Garthwaite, Craig & Moore, Timothy J., 2022. "Guns and violence: The enduring impact of crack cocaine markets on young black males," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 206(C).
    7. Matthew Lang, 2016. "State Firearm Sales and Criminal Activity: Evidence from Firearm Background Checks," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 83(1), pages 45-68, July.
    8. Christoph Koenig & David Schindler, 2018. "Dynamics in Gun Ownership and Crime - Evidence from the Aftermath of Sandy Hook," Bristol Economics Discussion Papers 18/694, School of Economics, University of Bristol, UK.
    9. Eicher, Theo S. & Schreiber, Till, 2010. "Structural policies and growth: Time series evidence from a natural experiment," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(1), pages 169-179, January.
    10. Galiani, Sebastian & Lamarche, Carlos & Porto, Alberto & Sosa-Escudero, Walter, 2005. "Persistence and regional disparities in unemployment (Argentina 1980-1997)," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 35(4), pages 375-394, July.
    11. Otto Brøns-Petersen & Søren Havn Gjedsted, 2021. "Climate change and institutional change: what is the relative importance for economic performance?," Environmental Economics and Policy Studies, Springer;Society for Environmental Economics and Policy Studies - SEEPS, vol. 23(2), pages 333-360, April.
    12. Guglielmo Maria Caporale & Anamaria Diana Sova & Robert Sova, 2024. "The Covid‐19 pandemic and European trade flows: Evidence from a dynamic panel model," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(3), pages 2563-2580, July.
    13. Abdul Munasib & Genti Kostandini & Jeffrey L. Jordan, 2018. "Impact of the Stand Your Ground law on gun deaths: evidence of a rural urban dichotomy," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 45(3), pages 527-554, June.
    14. Seung C. Ahn & Gareth M. Thomas, 2023. "Likelihood-based inference for dynamic panel data models," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 64(6), pages 2859-2909, June.
    15. Na Zhang & Jinqian Deng & Fayyaz Ahmad & Muhammad Umar Draz & Nabila Abid, 2023. "The dynamic association between public environmental demands, government environmental governance, and green technology innovation in China: evidence from panel VAR model," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 25(9), pages 9851-9875, September.
    16. Cheng Hsiao, 2007. "Panel data analysis—advantages and challenges," TEST: An Official Journal of the Spanish Society of Statistics and Operations Research, Springer;Sociedad de Estadística e Investigación Operativa, vol. 16(1), pages 1-22, May.
    17. DELL'ANNO, Roberto & VILLA, Stefania, 2012. "Growth in Transition Countries: Big Bang versus Gradualism," CELPE Discussion Papers 122, CELPE - CEnter for Labor and Political Economics, University of Salerno, Italy.
    18. Campo, Jacobo & Mendoza, Henry, 2018. "Gasto público y crecimiento económico: un análisis regional para Colombia, 1984-2012," Revista Lecturas de Economía, Universidad de Antioquia, CIE, issue 88, pages 77-108, January.
    19. Njangang, Henri & Asongu, Simplice A. & Tadadjeu, Sosson & Nounamo, Yann & Kamguia, Brice, 2022. "Governance in mitigating the effect of oil wealth on wealth inequality: A cross-country analysis of policy thresholds," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    20. Eric S. Lin & Hamid E. Ali, 2009. "Military Spending and Inequality: Panel Granger Causality Test," Journal of Peace Research, Peace Research Institute Oslo, vol. 46(5), pages 671-685, September.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Mass shooting; Firearm demand; Background check; Firearm suicide; Fear; Gun control;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
    • H75 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - State and Local Government: Health, Education, and Welfare
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jpolmo:v:44:y:2022:i:6:p:1148-1164. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/505735 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.