Demand and supply of commercial firearms in the United States

Authors

  • Jurgen Brauer

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15355/epsj.8.1.23

Keywords:

Firearms industry, firearms demand, firearms supply

Abstract

The article establishes methods by which to estimate demand and supply in the commercial firearms market in the United States. For the first time, this includes the number of used firearms resold via federally licensed retailers. For 2010, for example, total unit sales are estimated at 9.8 million pistols, revolvers, rifles, and shotguns, about 1.5 million of which were used weapons. The total number of military and nonmilitary firearms that entered commerce between 1986 and 2010 is estimated at about 150 million units. Allowing for pre-1986 production and imports, this lends credence to the notion that the total stock of firearms in the U.S. averages about one firearm per person. The article further shows rising firearms imports. In 2010, these amounted to about one-third of the total market. In addition to imports, foreign brands also produce at U.S. locations and, in 2010, captured well over 20 percent of the U.S. commercial pistol market.

References

Bialik, C. 2013a. “Gun Counts Can Be Hit-or-Miss.” The Wall Street Journal. 22 March 2013. See http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324103504578374692383804654.html [accessed 18 April 2013].

Bialik, C. 2013b. “Guns Present Polling Conundrum.” The Wall Street Journal Blogs. 22 March 2013. See http://blogs.wsj.com/numbersguy/guns-present-polling-conundrum-1223/ [accessed 18 April 2013].

Brauer, J. 2013. “The US Firearms Industry: Production and Supply.” Working Paper 14. Geneva: Small Arms Survey.

Hepburn, L., M. Miller, D. Azrael, and D. Hemenway. 2007. “The US gun stock: results from the 2004 national firearms survey.” Injury Prevention. Vol. 13, No. 1 (February), pp. 15–19. See http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2610545/ [accessed 18 April 2013.]

Legault, R.L., A.J. Lizotte. 2009. “Caught in the Crossfire: Legal and Illegal Gun Ownership in America,” pp. 469-492 in M.D. Krohn, A.J. Lizotte, and G. Penly Hall, eds. Handbook on Crime and Deviance. Dordrecht, Heidelberg, London, New York: Springer.

[NSSF] National Shooting Sports Foundation. 2010. 2010 Firearms Retailer Survey. Prepared by Southwick Associates (Fernandina Beach, FL) for the NSSF.

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Published

2013-04-22

How to Cite

Brauer, J. (2013). Demand and supply of commercial firearms in the United States. The Economics of Peace and Security Journal, 8(1). https://doi.org/10.15355/epsj.8.1.23

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Section

Articles

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