{"683197":{"#nid":"683197","#data":{"type":"news","title":"School Shootings Lower Spending by Millions in Affected Communities","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ESchool shootings occur almost \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/everytownresearch.org\/report\/how-to-stop-shootings-and-gun-violence-in-schools\/\u0022\u003Eweekly\u003C\/a\u003E in the U.S., with effects rippling beyond the school district where a shooting happened. New \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/papers.ssrn.com\/sol3\/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4611791\u0022\u003Eresearch\u003C\/a\u003E from Georgia Tech shows that spending at local businesses across an affected community declines for at least six months.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFollowing school shootings, community members are 2% less likely to shop at area grocery stores. Convenience shops and liquor stores lose 3% of their business during this period. Restaurant and bar patronage drops even further \u2014 to 8%.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECumulatively, a local economy can lose $5.4 million over six months.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe set out to explore whether school shootings would have a direct causal impact on community economic activity,\u201d said\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.scheller.gatech.edu\/directory\/faculty\/pattabhiramaiah\/index.html\u0022\u003EAdithya Pattabhiramaiah\u003C\/a\u003E,\u003Cstrong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003ESharon A. and David B. Pearce Professor in the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.scheller.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EScheller College of Business.\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u201cIt may seem like a 2% loss is small, but that can add up to a pretty sizable revenue impact for a retailer with small margins.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe Data\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe three-year study combined statistical data and experimental interviews. The researchers started by examining NielsenIQ data, which tracks what shoppers buy at stores by county. Their NielsenIQ sample included 63 fatal school shootings between 2012 and 2019. Next, the researchers combined this with a Center for Homeland Defense and Security dataset of school shootings. They also examined a study of the nutritional value of products people bought at grocery stores in areas with school shootings.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe researchers hypothesized that people buy unhealthier foods to cope with negative emotions. Instead, their analysis showed people don\u2019t buy comfort food after school shootings \u2014 because they generally don\u2019t shop at all.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPattabhiramaiah and his collaborators compared these datasets with those of neighboring counties that did not experience a school shooting. They followed purchasing patterns for a year, from six months before the event through six months after. The study\u2019s statistical controls helped rule out other reasons people might shop less, such as weather events or holidays.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe Emotional Impact\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt was important to the researchers to show that people not only spend less, but also why. So, the team conducted experimental studies in which participants read a hypothetical shooting scenario and were asked to share their emotional response to it and discuss how such an event might affect their shopping.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis experimental data backed up the numbers. People are more likely to consolidate their shopping trips and dine out less. This often comes down to anxiety about being in public.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe show the main driver isn\u2019t fear, or even sadness,\u201d Pattabhiramaiah said. \u201cIf that were the case, we would see evidence of people indulging in comfort foods, as past studies have shown. Rather, the main feeling is anxiety.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOne thing is clear from Pattabhiramaiah\u2019s research. Policymakers need to think about how to help their communities recover when school shootings occur. Thriving local businesses are a sign of a community\u2019s economic health \u2014 and also its emotional well-being.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ESchool shootings occur almost \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/everytownresearch.org\/report\/how-to-stop-shootings-and-gun-violence-in-schools\/\u0022\u003Eweekly\u003C\/a\u003E in the U.S., with effects rippling beyond the school district where a shooting happened. New \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/papers.ssrn.com\/sol3\/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4611791\u0022\u003Eresearch\u003C\/a\u003E from Georgia Tech shows that spending at local businesses across an affected community declines for at least six months.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Georgia Tech researchers have discovered persistent community-wide economic effects from school shootings."}],"uid":"34541","created_gmt":"2025-07-21 18:20:57","changed_gmt":"2025-07-30 12:50:38","author":"Tess Malone","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2025-07-21T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2025-07-21T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"677459":{"id":"677459","type":"image","title":"pattabhiramaiah_adithya_profile_hi-res.jpg","body":null,"created":"1753122303","gmt_created":"2025-07-21 18:25:03","changed":"1753122303","gmt_changed":"2025-07-21 18:25:03","alt":"Pattabhiramaiah","file":{"fid":"261359","name":"pattabhiramaiah_adithya_profile_hi-res.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/07\/21\/pattabhiramaiah_adithya_profile_hi-res.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/07\/21\/pattabhiramaiah_adithya_profile_hi-res.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":947751,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2025\/07\/21\/pattabhiramaiah_adithya_profile_hi-res.jpg?itok=Fz5mOSnX"}}},"media_ids":["677459"],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"1274","name":"Scheller College of Business"}],"categories":[{"id":"139","name":"Business"}],"keywords":[{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71901","name":"Society and Culture"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ETess Malone, Senior Research Writer\/Editor\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003Etess.malone@gatech.edu\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}