David Brendan Mustard (born September 18, 1968, in Buffalo, New York)[1] is an American economist and the Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professor of economics at the University of Georgia's Terry College of Business.
[2] 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.
[3][4] This study has been criticized by other researchers, including Ian Ayres and John J.
[5] With Earl Grinols, Mustard has also researched the economic effects of gambling on crime, jobs, and tax revenues.