@article{ref1,
title="Gun prevalence and suicide",
journal="Journal of health economics",
year="2018",
author="Balestra, Simone",
volume="61",
number="",
pages="163-177",
abstract="In light of the ongoing debate over tighter firearm regulations, this paper considers the relationship between gun prevalence and suicide. I exploit a reform in Switzerland that reduced the prevalence of military-issued guns in private households. In Switzerland, military service is compulsory for men, and military-issued guns account for nearly half of the total number of firearms available. The results show that the firearm suicide rate decreases by 9% for a reduction in gun prevalence of 1000 guns per 100,000 inhabitants. The elasticity of gun suicides with respect to firearm prevalence is +0.48, but converges towards zero for low levels of gun prevalence. The overall suicide rate is negatively and significantly related to firearm prevalence, which indicates that non-gun methods of suicide are not perfect replacements for firearms.<br><br>Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0167-6296",
doi="10.1016/j.jhealeco.2018.08.003",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhealeco.2018.08.003"
}