CLEAN - LSE SEMINAR -  Katie Bollman (Oregon State University)

The next CLEAN seminar, in collaboration with LSE, will take place on April 30th 2025 from 4-5PM CET online.

Katie Bollman (Oregon State University) will be presenting her paper “Gun Policy and the Steel Paradox: Evidence from Oregunians” joint with Benjamin Hansen, Edward Rubin and Garrett Stanford.

Abstract 

Using Measure 114’s narrow passage in Oregon as a natural experiment, we study how new gun regulations affect firearm demand. Background checks, a proxy for demand, rose 13.9% in anticipation of the referendum and surged 157% immediately following the election. After judicial intervention halted the law’s enactment, demand returned near pre-election levels. Temporal displacement/harvesting does not explain the demand spike: after eighteen months, we still observe a substantial cumulative increase of 63,000 excess firearm-related background checks. Administrative data reveal significant county-level heterogeneity. This evidence underscores the paradoxical effect of gun-control policies, offering a cautionary lesson to policymakers.

You may follow the event online via Zoom Meetings at the following link: https://unibocconi-it.zoom.us/j/95156174209?pwd=wXEpcuO3NvMY4wKbMZJxdbd4MXbThO.1 - Meeting ID: 951 5617 4209 - Passcode: 380323