Study: Economists' Consensus Is Concealed Carry Lowers Crime

A recently released Crime Research Prevention Center (CRPC) study on academics and concealed carry in the United States shows that economists’ consensus is overwhelmingly that concealed carry lowers crime.

The study surveyed “50 economists,” comprised of 43 Americans, four Canadians, two Australians, and one Swedish economist.

CRPC asked, “In the United States, are guns used in self-defense more often than they are used in the commission of a crime?” When allowing for three possible answers of “Yes,” “No,” or “Undecided,” sixty-six percent of economists in the U.S. answered “Yes,” guns are used more often for self-defense. When only two answers were allowed–“Yes” or “No”–eighty-eight percent of economists in the U.S. answered “Yes,” concurring that guns are used for self-defense more often than in committing crime.

When the same question was applied to all economists–U.S., Canadian, Australian, and Swedish–sixty percent said “Yes” when given the option of “Yes,” “No,” or “Undecided” and eighty-three percent said “Yes” when given the option of “Yes” or “No.”

CRPC also asked, “How does allowing people to carry a permitted concealed handgun affect the murder rate?”

When given four options for response–“Decrease,” “No Effect,” “Increase,” or “I don’t know”–seventy-two percent of economists in the U.S. said concealed carry decreases the murder rate. When the options for response were narrowed to “Decrease,” “No Effect,” or “Increase,” eighty-one percent of economists in the U.S. said concealed carry decreases the murder rate.

When the same question was applied to all economists–U.S., Canadian, Australian, and Swedish–sixty-six percent said concealed carry decreases the murder rate when given the option of “Decrease,” “No Effect,” “Increase,” or “I don’t know.” Seventy-four percent said it decreases the murder rate when the options were narrowed to “Decrease,” “No Effect,” or “Increase.”

The bottom line is that the consensus of more than four-fifths of economists is that guns in the U.S. are used for self-defense more often than for crime, and nearly 3 out of 4 agree that concealed carry in the U.S. lowers the murder rate.

AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.