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The Debate on Right-to-Carry Concealed Weapons Laws

Author

Listed:
  • Carlisle E. Moody

    (Department of Economics, College of William and Mary)

  • Thomas B. Marvell

    (Justec Research)

Abstract

There are a large number of studies indicating that “shall-issue” laws reduce crime. Only one study, by Ayres and Donohue, implies that these laws lead to an overall increase in crime. We apply an improved version of the Ayres and Donohue methodology to a more complete data set. We find that Ayres and Donohue’s results, projected beyond five years, and our own analysis imply that shall-issue laws decrease crime and the costs of crime and are therefore socially beneficial.

Suggested Citation

  • Carlisle E. Moody & Thomas B. Marvell, 2008. "The Debate on Right-to-Carry Concealed Weapons Laws," Working Papers 71, Department of Economics, College of William and Mary.
    • Handle: RePEc:cwm:wpaper:71
    as

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    File URL: http://economics.wm.edu/wp/cwm_wp71.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Black, Dan A & Nagin, Daniel S, 1998. "Do Right-to-Carry Laws Deter Violent Crime?," The Journal of Legal Studies, University of Chicago Press, vol. 27(1), pages 209-219, January.
    2. Roland G. Fryer & Paul S. Heaton & Steven D. Levitt & Kevin M. Murphy, 2005. "Measuring the Impact of Crack Cocaine," NBER Working Papers 11318, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. John Donohue & Ian Ayres, "undated". "The Latest Misfires in Support of the More Guns, Less Crime Hypothesis," Yale Law School John M. Olin Center for Studies in Law, Economics, and Public Policy Working Paper Series yale_lepp-1010, Yale Law School John M. Olin Center for Studies in Law, Economics, and Public Policy.
    4. Lott, John R, Jr, 1998. "The Concealed-Handgun Debate," The Journal of Legal Studies, University of Chicago Press, vol. 27(1), pages 221-243, January.
    5. Ian Ayres & John J. Donohue III, 2002. "Shooting Down the More Guns, Less Crime Hypothesis," NBER Working Papers 9336, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Lott, John R, Jr & Mustard, David B, 1997. "Crime, Deterrence, and Right-to-Carry Concealed Handguns," The Journal of Legal Studies, University of Chicago Press, vol. 26(1), pages 1-68, January.
    7. Moulton, Brent R, 1990. "An Illustration of a Pitfall in Estimating the Effects of Aggregate Variables on Micro Unit," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 72(2), pages 334-338, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Crime; gun control; concealed carry laws;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • K14 - Law and Economics - - Basic Areas of Law - - - Criminal Law

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