Guns and violence: The enduring impact of crack cocaine markets on young black males

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Evans, William N.; Garthwaite, Craig; Moore, Timothy J.
• 署名单位: University of Notre Dame; National Bureau of Economic Research; Northwestern University; National Bureau of Economic Research; Purdue University System; Purdue University; National Bureau of Economic Research
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0047-2727
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2021.104581
• 发表日期: 2022
• 关键词: Crack cocaine; Drug epidemics; homicide; Murder; guns; Black males; life expectancy

摘要

The violence associated with crack cocaine markets in the 1980s and 1990s has repercussions today. Using cross-city variation in when crack cocaine arrived and an older comparison group, we estimate that the US murder rate of black males aged 15-24 was still 70 percent higher 17 years after crack markets had emerged. Using the fraction of gun-related suicides as a proxy for gun availability, we find that increased access to guns led to persistently higher murder rates. Our estimates imply that more guns due to crack-related violence explains approximately one-tenth of the current life-expectancy gap between white and black males. (c) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.