Revisiting the Question 'More Guns, Less Crime?' New Estimates Using Spatial Econometric Techniques

Abstract

In a highly debated paper, Lott & Mustard (1997) found that allowing citizens to carry concealed handguns reduced crime. Since then, numerous researchers have questioned the validity of the findings. In addition, ongoing work has shown there is an important spatial component to crime. In this paper, we use spatial econometric techniques to estimate the impact of adoption of concealed weapons laws by some states on crime rates across the U.S. We find there are spillover effects of concealed weapons laws and that spatial dependence plays an important role when estimating the effect of these laws on crime.

Keywords: right-to-carry laws, spatial panel data models, spatial econometrics, crime

JEL Classification: C21, C31