IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/iza/izadps/dp9830.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Child Access Prevention Laws, Youth Gun Carrying, and School Shootings

Author

Listed:
  • Anderson, D. Mark

    (Montana State University)

  • Sabia, Joseph J.

    (San Diego State University)

Abstract

Despite intense public interest in keeping guns out of schools, next to nothing is known about the effects of gun control policies on youth gun carrying or school violence. Using data from the Youth Risk Behavior Surveys (YRBS) for the period 1993-2013, this study is the first to examine the relationship between child access prevention (CAP) gun controls laws and gun carrying among high school students. Our results suggest that CAP laws are associated with a 13 percent decrease in the rate of past month gun carrying and an 18 percent decrease in the rate at which students reported being threatened or injured with a weapon on school property. In addition, we find that CAP laws are associated with a lagged decline in the probability that students miss school due to feeling unsafe. These results are concentrated among minors, for whom CAP laws are most likely to bind. To supplement our YRBS analysis, we collect a novel dataset on school shooting deaths for the period 1991-2013. We find that while CAP laws promote a safer school environment, they have no observable impact on school-associated shooting deaths.

Suggested Citation

  • Anderson, D. Mark & Sabia, Joseph J., 2016. "Child Access Prevention Laws, Youth Gun Carrying, and School Shootings," IZA Discussion Papers 9830, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp9830
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://docs.iza.org/dp9830.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ludwig, Jens, 1998. "Concealed-gun-carrying laws and violent crime: evidence from state panel data," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(3), pages 239-254, September.
    2. Abhay Aneja & John J. Donohue III & Alexandria Zhang, 2012. "The Impact of Right to Carry Laws and the NRC Report: The Latest Lessons for the Empirical Evaluation of Law and Policy," NBER Working Papers 18294, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. John Cawley & Chad Meyerhoefer & David Newhouse, 2007. "The impact of state physical education requirements on youth physical activity and overweight," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 16(12), pages 1287-1301, December.
    4. Ruhm, Christopher J., 1996. "Alcohol policies and highway vehicle fatalities," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 15(4), pages 435-454, August.
    5. Mustard, David B, 2001. "The Impact of Gun Laws on Police Deaths," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 44(2), pages 635-657, October.
    6. repec:oup:alecon:v:17:y:2015:i:2:p:495-528. is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Jeff Grogger, 1997. "Local Violence, Educational Attainment, and Teacher Pay," NBER Working Papers 6003, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    8. Marianne Bertrand & Esther Duflo & Sendhil Mullainathan, 2004. "How Much Should We Trust Differences-In-Differences Estimates?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 119(1), pages 249-275.
    9. Jeffrey Grogger, 1997. "Local Violence and Educational Attainment," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 32(4), pages 659-682.
    10. Sara Markowitz & Robert Kaestner & Michael Grossman, 2005. "An Investigation of the Effects of Alcohol Consumption and Alcohol Policies on Youth Risky Sexual Behaviors," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 95(2), pages 263-266, May.
    11. Marvell, Thomas B, 2001. "The Impact of Banning Juvenile Gun Possession," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 44(2), pages 691-713, October.
    12. McClellan, Chandler & Tekin, Erdal, 2012. "Stand Your Ground Laws and Homicides," IZA Discussion Papers 6705, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    13. Hansen, Benjamin & Sabia, Joseph J. & Rees, Daniel I., 2015. "Cigarette Taxes and Youth Smoking: Updated Estimates Using YRBS Data," IZA Discussion Papers 9144, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    14. Ian Ayres & John J. Donohue, 2009. "More Guns, Less Crime Fails Again: The Latest Evidence from 1977–2006," Econ Journal Watch, Econ Journal Watch, vol. 6(2), pages 218-238, May.
    15. Jens Otto Ludwig, 1998. "Concealed-Gun-Carrying Laws and Violent Crime: Evidence from State Panel Data," JCPR Working Papers 31, Northwestern University/University of Chicago Joint Center for Poverty Research.
    16. John Cawley & Chad Meyerhoefer & David Newhouse, 2007. "The impact of state physical education requirements on youth physical activity and overweight," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 16(12), pages 1287-1301.
    17. Carpenter, Christopher S. & Stehr, Mark, 2008. "The effects of mandatory seatbelt laws on seatbelt use, motor vehicle fatalities, and crash-related injuries among youths," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(3), pages 642-662, 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.
    19. Taylor, Benjamin & Li, Jing, 2015. "Do fewer guns lead to less crime? Evidence from Australia," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 72-78.
    20. D. Mark Anderson & David Elsea, 2015. "The Meth Project and Teen Meth Use: New Estimates from the National and State Youth Risk Behavior Surveys," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 24(12), pages 1644-1650, December.
    21. John R. Lott, Jr. & John Whitley, 2001. "Safe Storage Gun Laws: Accidental Deaths, Suicides and Crime," School of Economics and Public Policy Working Papers 2001-06, University of Adelaide, School of Economics and Public Policy.
    22. Matthew Lang, 2013. "The Impact Of Mental Health Insurance Laws On State Suicide Rates," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 22(1), pages 73-88, January.
    23. Lott, John R, Jr & Whitley, John E, 2001. "Safe-Storage Gun Laws: Accidental Deaths, Suicides, and Crime," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 44(2), pages 659-689, October.
    24. Prickett, K.C. & Martin-Storey, A. & Crosnoe, R., 2014. "State firearm laws, firearm ownership, and safety practices among families of preschool-aged children," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 104(6), pages 1080-1086.
    25. D. Mark Anderson & Benjamin Hansen & Daniel I. Rees, 2015. "Medical Marijuana Laws and Teen Marijuana Use," American Law and Economics Review, American Law and Economics Association, vol. 17(2), pages 495-528.
    26. Cheng Cheng & Mark Hoekstra, 2013. "Does Strengthening Self-Defense Law Deter Crime or Escalate Violence?:Evidence from Expansions to Castle Doctrine," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 48(3), pages 821-854.
    27. Tzu‐Chun Kuo, 2012. "Evaluating Californian under‐age drunk driving laws: endogenous policy lags," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 27(7), pages 1100-1115, November.
    28. Benjamin Hansen & Daniel I. Rees & Joseph J. Sabia, 2013. "Cigarette Taxes and How Youths Obtain Cigarettes," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 66(2), pages 371-394, June.
    29. Anderson, D. Mark, 2010. "Does information matter? The effect of the Meth Project on meth use among youths," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(5), pages 732-742, September.
    30. Richard S. Grossman & Stephen A. Lee, 2008. "May Issue Versus Shall Issue: Explaining The Pattern Of Concealed‐Carry Handgun Laws, 1960–2001," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 26(2), pages 198-206, April.
    31. repec:wly:soecon:v:80:1:y:2013:p:5-25 is not listed on IDEAS
    32. Sabia, Joseph J. & Bass, Brittany, 2015. "Do Anti-Bullying Laws Reduce Youth Violence?," IZA Discussion Papers 9201, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    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. Joseph J. Sabia & Brittany Bass, 2017. "Do anti-bullying laws work? New evidence on school safety and youth violence," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 30(2), pages 473-502, April.

    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. 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).
    2. D. Mark Anderson & Kyutaro Matsuzawa & Joseph J. Sabia, 2020. "Cigarette Taxes and Teen Marijuana Use," NBER Working Papers 26780, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Anderson, D. Mark & Hansen, Benjamin & Walker, Mary Beth, 2013. "The minimum dropout age and student victimization," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 66-74.
    4. 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.
    5. Anderson, D. Mark & Matsuzawa, Kyutaro & Sabia, Joseph J., 2020. "Cigarette Taxes and Teen Marijuana Use," IZA Discussion Papers 12980, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. D. Mark Anderson & David Elsea, 2015. "The Meth Project and Teen Meth Use: New Estimates from the National and State Youth Risk Behavior Surveys," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 24(12), pages 1644-1650, December.
    7. Zhuang Hao & Benjamin W. Cowan, 2017. "The Effects of Graduation Requirements on Risky Health Behaviors of High School Students," NBER Working Papers 23803, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    8. Cheng Cheng & Mark Hoekstra, 2013. "Does Strengthening Self-Defense Law Deter Crime or Escalate Violence?:Evidence from Expansions to Castle Doctrine," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 48(3), pages 821-854.
    9. Joseph J. Sabia & Thanh Tam Nguyen & Oren Rosenberg, 2017. "High School Physical Education Requirements and Youth Body Weight: New Evidence from the YRBS," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(10), pages 1291-1306, October.
    10. Barati, Mehdi, 2016. "New evidence on the impact of concealed carry weapon laws on crime," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 76-83.
    11. Briggs Depew & Isaac D. Swensen, 2019. "The Decision to Carry: The Effect of Crime on Concealed-Carry Applications," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 54(4), pages 1121-1153.
    12. Mocan, Naci & Tekin, Erdal, 2003. "Guns, Drugs and Juvenile Crime: Evidence from a Panel of Siblings and Twins," IZA Discussion Papers 932, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    13. Sen Choudhury, Rebecca & Conway, Karen Smith, 2020. "The effect of tobacco policies on youth physical activity," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 38(C).
    14. Sabia, Joseph J. & Anderson, D. Mark, 2016. "The effect of parental involvement laws on teen birth control use," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 55-62.
    15. Anderson, D. Mark & Rees, Daniel I., 2015. "Per se drugged driving laws and traffic fatalities," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 122-134.
    16. Brandyn F. Churchill, 2024. "State‐mandated school‐based BMI assessments and self‐reported adolescent health behaviors," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 43(1), pages 63-86, January.
    17. David Fortunato, 2015. "Can Easing Concealed Carry Deter Crime?," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 96(4), pages 1071-1085, December.
    18. Jeffrey DeSimone & Sara Markowitz & Jing Xu, 2013. "Child Access Prevention Laws and Nonfatal Gun Injuries," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 80(1), pages 5-25, July.
    19. Daniel I. Rees & Joseph J. Sabia & Gokhan Kumpas, 2022. "Anti‐Bullying Laws and Suicidal Behaviors Among Teenagers," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 41(3), pages 787-823, June.
    20. Durlauf, Steven N. & Navarro, Salvador & Rivers, David A., 2016. "Model uncertainty and the effect of shall-issue right-to-carry laws on crime," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 32-67.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    school violence; youth risky behavior; gun control;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • K4 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior
    • I2 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education
    • H7 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    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:iza:izadps:dp9830. 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: Holger Hinte (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/izaaade.html .

    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.