EFEITO DO ESTATUTO DO DESARMAMENTO SOBRE AS MORTES POR ARMAS DE FOGO NO BRASIL

Abstract

The rise of violent crime in recent decades, represented particularly by firearm-related deaths, has drawn the attention of society and various sciences. Economics, among other aspects, contributes to the analysis of the effect of the implementation of public policies aimed at reducing crime. Thus, taking into consideration the approval of the Disarmament Statute (DE) in Brazil in 2003, this paper aims to analyze its effect on firearm-related deaths, represented by homicides, suicides, accidents and injuries of undetermined causes during the period 1997-2015. For this, a dynamic panel, model GMM-SYS, was used, where the results showed that despite the implementation of the ED, the country showed an increase in firearm-related death rates, which follow the homicide behavior, given its prominence among the modalities of death. It is important to highlight the Brazilian distinct regional dynamics that characterize the evolution of firearm deaths in the period, particularly homicides. Among all Brazilian regions, the northeastern region presented the highest growth of deaths, having as main explanation the growing conflicts over land tenure and political power, besides the control of drug and arms trafficking. The Southeast region, particularly the state of Sao Paulo, had a reduction in firearm-related death rates, mainly due to public policies implemented in public safety.