Slipping Through the Cracks? The Impact of Reporting Mental Health Records to the National Firearm Background Check System

Fredrick E. Vars, Benjamin Meadows and Griffin Edwards

Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 2022, vol. 195, issue C, 52-74

Abstract: Prominent players on both sides of the contentious debate over firearm regulation agree that some people with mental illness should be prohibited from purchasing firearms. This consensus exists despite limited empirical support. We assess the impact of states reporting mental health records to the national firearm background check system on homicide and suicide. Using panel data and a difference-in-differences methodology, we find that upon adding mental health records to the national system, states experienced a 3.3–4.3% decrease in firearm-related suicides with no evidence of substitution to non-firearm suicides. Our findings suggest that mental health restrictions on gun sales do effectively reduce suicide but not homicide.

Keywords: Firearms; Mental health; Suicide; Homicide (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I12 K14 K42 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:195:y:2022:i:c:p:52-74

DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2021.12.002

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