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The Impact of Mass Shootings on Gun Policy

Author

Listed:
  • Michael Luca

    (Harvard Business School, Negotiation, Organizations & Markets Unit)

  • Deepak Malhotra

    (Harvard Business School, Negotiation, Organizations & Markets Unit)

  • Christopher Poliquin

    (Harvard Business School)

Abstract
There have been dozens of high-profile mass shootings in recent decades. This paper presents three main findings about the impact of mass shootings on gun policy. First, mass shootings evoke large policy responses. A single mass shooting leads to a 15% increase in the number of firearm bills introduced within a state in the year after a mass shooting. Second, mass shootings account for a small portion of all gun deaths, but have an outsized influence relative to other homicides. Our estimates suggest that the per-death impact of mass shootings on bills introduced is about 80 times as large as the impact of individual gun homicides in non-mass shooting incidents. Third, when looking at enacted laws, the impact of mass shootings depends on the party in power. A mass shooting increases the number of enacted laws that loosen gun restrictions by 75% in states with Republican-controlled legislatures. We find no significant effect of mass shootings on laws enacted when there is a Democrat-controlled legislature.

Suggested Citation

  • Michael Luca & Deepak Malhotra & Christopher Poliquin, 2016. "The Impact of Mass Shootings on Gun Policy," Harvard Business School Working Papers 16-126, Harvard Business School, revised Oct 2016.
    • Handle: RePEc:hbs:wpaper:16-126
    as

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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D0 - Microeconomics - - General
    • I1 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health
    • K0 - Law and Economics - - General

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