Scholarship & Research
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Item Effects of violent media content: Evidence from the rise of the UFC(Elsevier BV, 2022-05) Lindo, Jason, M.; Swensen, Isaac D.; Waddell, Glen R.We document the effect of violent media on crime. Specifically, we evaluate the effects of The Ultimate Fighter, a hit TV show that features fighters competing in violent mixed martial arts and which brought Ultimate Fighting Championship into the mainstream. We estimate the effect of exposure to the show’s earliest episodes using panel data from police agencies across the United States and a strategy that uses network ratings prior to the show’s premier as an instrumental variable. We show that this exposure significantly reduced crime: these effects are particularly evident for assault, began in the month the show premiered, and persisted for many years. These estimates do not reflect systematic differences across geographic areas in their trends in crime rates prior to 2005. To complement our main results, we also investigate the effects of “UFC Main Events,” which air in bars and on Pay-Per-View. This analysis additionally suggests reductions in violence caused by viewership.Item The Effect of Concealed-Carry and Handgun Restrictions on Gun-Related Deaths: Evidence from the Sullivan Act of 1911(Oxford University Press, 2022-01) Depew, Briggs; Swensen, Isaac D.The 1911 New York State Sullivan Act outlawed carrying concealable firearms without a licence, established strict licencing rules and regulated the sale and possession of handguns. We analyse the effects of the Sullivan Act using historical data on mortality rates, pistol permits and citations for illegal carrying. Our analysis of pistol permits and citations reveal clear initial effects of the Sullivan Act on gun-related behaviours. Using synthetic control and difference-in-differences methodologies, our main analyses show no effects on overall homicide rates, evidence of a reduction in overall suicide rates and strong evidence of a large and sustained decrease in gun-related suicide rates.Item Substance-abuse treatment and mortality(2015-02) Swensen, Isaac D.Drug-overdose deaths, which have more than doubled over the past decade, represent a growing public-health concern. Though substance-abuse treatment may be effective in reducing drug abuse, evidence for a causal effect of treatment on drug-related mortality is lacking. I analyze the effect of substance-abuse treatment on mortality by exploiting county-level variation in treatment facilities driven by facility openings and closings. The estimates indicate that a 10% increase in facilities lowers a county's drug-induced mortality rate by 2%. The estimated effects persist across individual and county characteristics and further indicate that spillovers of treatment reduce other related causes of death.