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Publications
Publications
  • 2017
  • Article
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Handgun Waiting Periods Reduce Gun Deaths

By: Michael Luca, Deepak Malhotra and Christopher Poliquin
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Abstract

Handgun waiting periods are laws that impose a delay between the initiation of a purchase and final acquisition of a firearm. We show that waiting periods, which create a “cooling off” period among buyers, significantly reduce the incidence of gun violence. We estimate the impact of waiting periods on gun deaths, exploiting all changes to state-level policies in the Unites States since 1970. We find that waiting periods reduce gun homicides by roughly 17%. We provide further support for the causal impact of waiting periods on homicides by exploiting a natural experiment resulting from a federal law in 1994 that imposed a temporary waiting period on a subset of states.

Keywords

Gun Policy; Gun Violence; Waiting Period; Injury Prevention; Policy; Safety; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; United States

Citation

Luca, Michael, Deepak Malhotra, and Christopher Poliquin. "Handgun Waiting Periods Reduce Gun Deaths." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 114, no. 46 (November 14, 2017).
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About The Authors

Michael Luca

Negotiation, Organizations & Markets
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Deepak Malhotra

Negotiation, Organizations & Markets
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