Theses and Dissertations at Montana State University (MSU)
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://scholarworks.montana.edu/handle/1/733
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Item The effect of school safety tip lines on youth suicide prevention(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 2021) Hossain, Md Tahmeed; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Isaac SwensenSuicidal deaths of high school-aged youths (14-to-18-year-olds) have almost doubled over the past decade. School safety tip lines, an anonymous reporting method that enables students to submit tips about their suicidal friends and classmates, have emerged as a potential solution to reduce youth suicide. Using data from the CDC's Multiple Causes of Death data for the period 1999-2018, this is the first study to formally investigate the effect of introducing school safety tip lines on youth suicide prevention. My primary identification strategy is a difference-in-differences (DID) method that exploits variation in the timing of the adoption of the safety tip lines across states. I also employ a synthetic control method (SCM) as an alternative identification strategy to compare suicide rates in Colorado and Michigan (early adopters of tip line mobile applications and websites) to non-adopting states before and after the adoption of tip lines. Despite the existence of anecdotal evidence of tip lines saving many high-school students from committing suicides, I find little evidence that tip lines have reduced completed suicides among 14-to-18-year-old youths.Item The effects of red flag laws on firearm suicides and homicides(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 2021) Harris, Mitchell John; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Mark AndersonRisk-based firearm removal laws, commonly known as Red Flag laws have become increasingly popular among lawmakers attempting to reduce gun violence in America. Despite widespread public support, these laws have yet to be studied in economics. Using mortality data from the National Vital Statistics System, I find that Red Flag laws have a significant negative effect on firearm suicides and firearm homicides. Upon further analysis, I find that there is evidence of a pre-existing downward trend in both firearm suicides and firearm homicides. Red Flag laws do not cause changes in these mortality outcomes, rather there is an unobserved shock that decreases firearm suicides and homicides, while simultaneously affecting a state's propensity to adopt a Red Flag law. These results contradict existing non-economic literature, which suggests that Red Flag laws cause a large decrease in firearm suicides.