Economics Day wraps up with gun discussion

Guns don't kill people -- people kill people, goes the old adage.

But Duke professor Philip Cook prefers, "Guns don't kill people -- but they make it real easy."

He and other distinguished panelists came together yesterday for a symposium on "Guns and Crime: An Economic Perspective."

Students seeking to help their economics grades made up the majority of the crowd at the University Museum's Rainey Auditorium -- but a number of important faculty and interested Philadelphia citizens were also in attendance for the final event of Economics Day.

The evening was unusually structured, with an illustrious panel of experts each presenting separate 30-minute lectures before the floor was opened to questions at the end of the event.

Professor Emeritus of Economics Lawrence Klein introduced each of the speakers, beginning with Cook.

A noted economist and sociologist, Cook focused more specifically on the economics of gun crime than his fellow panelists did.

"The consequences of gun violence go far beyond the few people who are killed," Cook said.

The visiting professor also spoke harshly of critics who dismiss gun violence on the grounds that the lives lost to gun violence are of little value anyway -- calling such commentary "fundamentally offensive."

In his closing remarks, Cook cited a study he and his colleagues conducted to measure the economic impact of a gun crime reduction. Based on their research, it is estimated that "a 30 percent reduction in threat of gun assault is worth $24 billion per year."

Cook was followed by Fels Institute for Government Director Lawrence Sherman, whose lecture dealt with measures to control guns.

"You've got to find the guns," he said, "or you've got to act like you're going to find the guns."

Sherman also talked about the movement to create gun-free zones -- which began with airports in the 1970s and now includes the White House, most courts and many office buildings.

The professor then supported his claims with multiple federally funded studies.

The last speaker of the evening was Wharton Professor of Business and Public Policy Joel Waldfogel, who spoke about how he came to be appointed to a National Research Council panel on gun violence research.

Although Waldfogel was not allowed to discuss the actual work of the panel because the report is not yet final, he did lightheartedly outline the obstacles that face those who examine issues surrounding economics and guns.

Speaking about "the substitution question" -- the idea that if you eliminate some guns to reduce ownership, people may simply purchase different guns -- Waldfogel turned to food analogies.

"If it becomes harder to get Doritos, will obesity be reduced?" he asked rhetorically.

But Waldfogel was also serious in explaining the value of having an economist with little knowledge of gun violence on the panel.

"Economics is one of a number of useful lenses for looking at the issues," he said.

At the end of the lectures, many students in the audience simply left -- extra credit in tow -- but those who stayed enjoyed a short question-and-answer session.

Afterwards, Klein seemed generally pleased with the event.

"The presentations were quite interesting," he said.

But the 1980 Nobel laureate also admitted he had hoped for more economics.

"I was looking for more of an economic analysis," Klein said. "Discussion of how using economic principles can help to reduce the role of gun violence."

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