The Review of Economics and Statistics Vol. 107 No. 1 2025
On the Economic Consequences of Mass Shootings
open access
Abstract
In this paper, we investigate the economic consequences of mass shootings. We find that shootings have negative effects on targeted counties’ economies. Estimates using three different comparison groups yield similar results. Examining the mechanisms, we find that residents of targeted areas: (i) develop pessimistic views of financial and local business conditions; and (ii) are more likely to report poor mental health, which hinders usual activities such as work, suggesting that shootings lead to decreases in productivity. Further, we find that greater national media coverage of shootings exacerbates their local economic consequences.
- DOI
- 10.1162/rest_a_01241
- Volume
- 107
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 109-124
- Language
- en
- Sources
- bibtex:phds-export.bib openalex crossref