2020
Philip J. Cook
Society’s responses to crime, particularly tracking the harm caused by the American gun supply.
Cook was lauded for his extensive research on gun violence and its effects on American society. His work has provided profound insights into the impact of gun laws on crime and public health and the economic consequences of gun violence. Cook has focused on analysing the impact of various strategies to control and regulate firearm markets, demonstrating ways in which national gun control can reduce gun-related crime and injuries caused by firearms.Philip J. Cook
Born 1946 in the US. Philip J. Cook was professor emeritus of Economics and Public Policy at Duke University (United States) at the time of the award.
Showed that the design of many kinds of firearm legislation can reduce the number of firearm deaths.Showed that the design of many kinds of firearm legislation can reduce the number of firearm deaths.
Gun control that saves lives
Philip J. Cook was awarded the 2020 Stockholm Prize in Criminology for his research evidence on the impact of gun violence on society, and the effectiveness of many possible gun laws.
Cook was recognised for his pioneering research on how gun control affects crime, public health and economics. He has shown that regulation of the firearms markets can reduce gun-related crime and its damage.
Contribution to research as an economist
As an economist, he has been instrumental in the development and application of the scientific field of criminology. He has developed important methods for demonstrating and understanding the critical role of firearm availability on death rates. He has also disproved the assertion that firearm availability has no impact on injury rates, decisively demonstrating the falsity of this claim in repeated analyses and natural experiments within and across states.
Cook’s work has been of crucial importance to an entire generation of scholars. He has also provided policy makers with detailed data for taking more effective action to reduce the massive US suffering caused by firearms.
More firearms mean more deadly violence
In the 1970s, Cook started studying differences in firearm availability across American states. He was able to show that the number of gun-related suicides was strongly correlated with firearm availability in each state. He was then able to create a model for predicting the number of firearm-related deaths in relation to the number of firearms in a given location. His model was also able to show the risk of being shot dead during a robbery in a specific state. Today, many researchers use this model to study a range of phenomena, including the risk of deadly shootings by the police.