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Underground Gun Markets


Philip J. Cook


affiliation not provided to SSRN

Jens Ludwig


Georgetown University - Public Policy Institute (GPPI); National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER); Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)

Sudhir Alladi Venkatesh


Columbia University - Department of Sociology

Anthony A. Braga


affiliation not provided to SSRN
0000

The Economic Journal, Vol. 117, Issue 524, pp. F588-F618, November 2007

Abstract:     
This article provides an economic analysis of underground gun markets, drawing on interviews with gang members, gun dealers, professional thieves, prostitutes, police, public school security guards and teenagers in the city of Chicago, complemented by results from government surveys of recent arrestees in 22 cities, plus administrative data for suicides, homicides, robberies, arrests and confiscated crime guns. We find evidence that transactions costs are considerable in the underground gun market in Chicago, and to some extent in other cities as well. The most likely explanation is that the underground gun market is both illegal and thin relevant information about trading opportunities is scarce due to illegality, which makes search costly for market participants and leads to a market thickness effect on transaction costs.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 31

Accepted Paper Series


Date posted: November 27, 2007  

Suggested Citation

Cook, Philip J., Ludwig, Jens, Venkatesh, Sudhir Alladi and Braga, Anthony A., Underground Gun Markets (0000). The Economic Journal, Vol. 117, Issue 524, pp. F588-F618, November 2007. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1032369 or http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0297.2007.02098.x

Contact Information

Philip J. Cook (Contact Author)
affiliation not provided to SSRN
No Address Available
Jens Ludwig
Georgetown University - Public Policy Institute (GPPI) ( email )
3600 N Street, NW Suite 200
Washington, DC 20057
United States
National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States
Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)
P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany
Sudhir Alladi Venkatesh
Columbia University - Department of Sociology ( email )
3009 Broadway
New York, NY 10027
United States
Anthony A. Braga
affiliation not provided to SSRN
No Address Available
Feedback to SSRN (Beta)


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