David Mustard (economist)


David Brendan Mustard is an American economist and the Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professor of economics at the University of Georgia's Terry College of Business.

Research

In 1997, when he was a graduate student at the University of Chicago, Mustard co-authored an influential study with John Lott, examining the effects of right-to-carry laws, which make it easier to obtain a concealed handgun license. The study concluded that these laws reduce violent crime rates, without increasing accidental firearm deaths. This study has been criticized by other researchers, including Ian Ayres and John J. Donohue.
With Earl Grinols, Mustard has also researched the economic effects of gambling on crime, jobs, and tax revenues.