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Guns and Suicides

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Listed:
  • Daniel Cerqueira
  • Danilo Coelho
  • Marcelo Fernandes
  • Jony Pinto Junior

Abstract

There is a consensus in the literature that the ratio of suicides committed with guns to total suicides is the best indirect measure of gun ownership. However, such a proxy is not accurate for any locality with low population density in view that suicides are rare events. To circumvent this issue, we exploit the socioeconomic characteristics of the suicide victims in order to come up with a novel proxy for gun ownership. We assess our indicator using suicide micro-data from the Brazilian Ministry of Health between 2000 and 2010.

Suggested Citation

  • Daniel Cerqueira & Danilo Coelho & Marcelo Fernandes & Jony Pinto Junior, 2018. "Guns and Suicides," The American Statistician, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 72(3), pages 289-294, July.
  • Handle: RePEc:taf:amstat:v:72:y:2018:i:3:p:289-294
    DOI: 10.1080/00031305.2017.1419144
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Daniel Cerqueira & Danilo Santa Cruz Coelho & John J. Donohue & Marcelo Fernandes & Jony Arrais Pinto Jr., 2019. "A Panel-based Proxy for Gun Prevalence in the US," NBER Working Papers 25530, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

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