Arbeitspapier

Overconfidence and gun preferences: How behavioral biases affect your safety

Overconfidence leads to risky behavior, including when people are around guns. Does overconfidence also shape attitudes about gun ownership and use? We evaluate this possibility by conducting nationally representative surveys in six countries in the Americas, including the United States. Results show that overconfident individuals are more willing to accept the use of guns and more likely to declare their willingness to use guns. These results indicate that overconfidence is a significant behavioral trait correlated with attitudes toward weapons handling, ownership, carrying, and use. Overall, over-confidence could lead, in equilibrium, to lower regulation than optimal and a higher amount of guns, even before considering the effect of the electoral system, lobbying, and campaign contributions. Efforts to correct the biases of individuals confronted with making decisions about guns should be a priority, especially in regulatory contexts. Information about actual performance and the risks entailed by wrong choices is a must. Obliging individuals to reflect on their choices may also help correct observed biases.

Sprache
Englisch

Erschienen in
Series: IDB Working Paper Series ; No. IDB-WP-1225

Klassifikation
Wirtschaft
Micro-Based Behavioral Economics: Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making‡
Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior: General
Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
Thema
Overconfidence
Gun attitudes
Gun behavior
Crime
Behavioral biases

Ereignis
Geistige Schöpfung
(wer)
Cafferata, Fernando G.
Domínguez, Patricio
Scartascini, Carlos G.
Ereignis
Veröffentlichung
(wer)
Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)
(wo)
Washington, DC
(wann)
2023

DOI
doi:10.18235/0004855
Letzte Aktualisierung
10.03.2025, 11:44 MEZ

Datenpartner

Dieses Objekt wird bereitgestellt von:
ZBW - Deutsche Zentralbibliothek für Wirtschaftswissenschaften - Leibniz-Informationszentrum Wirtschaft. Bei Fragen zum Objekt wenden Sie sich bitte an den Datenpartner.

Objekttyp

  • Arbeitspapier

Beteiligte

  • Cafferata, Fernando G.
  • Domínguez, Patricio
  • Scartascini, Carlos G.
  • Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)

Entstanden

  • 2023

Ähnliche Objekte (12)