Pandemics, Protests, and Firearms

IF 3.1 2区 经济学 Q1 ECONOMICS
Bree J. Lang, Matthew Lang
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引用次数: 13

Abstract

A record number of firearm background checks were completed at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and during the protests following the murder of George Floyd. Using monthly state-level data, we show that the increase in firearm background check rates in March 2020 and June 2020 differ from previous gun-buying events in at least two important ways. First, the increases in the background check rates surrounding COVID-19 and the George Floyd protests are significantly larger than previous gun-buying events. Second, the gun-buying events of 2020 are nonpartisan; the effect in Republican-leaning states is statistically indistinguishable from the effect in Democrat-leaning states. Our estimates suggest that there were 62 percent more background checks completed between March and August 2020 than expected, which amounts to over 7 million additional background checks. We provide evidence that the recent spikes in background checks are not motivated by gun policy uncertainty and discuss policy recommendations that may alleviate any negative outcomes associated with expanded gun ownership during an unprecedented pandemic.
流行病、抗议和枪支
在新冠肺炎大流行开始时以及在乔治·弗洛伊德被谋杀后的抗议活动中,完成了创纪录数量的枪支背景调查。使用月度州级数据,我们发现,2020年3月和2020年6月枪支背景调查率的上升至少在两个重要方面与之前的枪支购买事件不同。首先,围绕新冠肺炎和乔治·弗洛伊德抗议活动的背景调查率的上升幅度明显大于之前的持枪事件。其次,2020年的枪支购买事件是无党派的;从统计数据来看,倾向共和党的州的影响与倾向民主党的州的效果难以区分。我们的估计表明,2020年3月至8月期间完成的背景调查比预期多62%,相当于增加了700多万次背景调查。我们提供的证据表明,最近背景调查的激增并非出于枪支政策的不确定性,并讨论了可能缓解在前所未有的疫情期间扩大枪支所有权带来的任何负面后果的政策建议。
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来源期刊
CiteScore
4.30
自引率
2.70%
发文量
34
期刊介绍: The American Journal of Health Economics (AJHE) provides a forum for the in-depth analysis of health care markets and individual health behaviors. The articles appearing in AJHE are authored by scholars from universities, private research organizations, government, and industry. Subjects of interest include competition among private insurers, hospitals, and physicians; impacts of public insurance programs, including the Affordable Care Act; pharmaceutical innovation and regulation; medical device supply; the rise of obesity and its consequences; the influence and growth of aging populations; and much more.
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