How well do firearm markets comply with firearm restrictions? The Massachusetts Attorney General issued an Enforcement Notice in 2016 to announce a new interpretation of the key phrase “copies and duplicates” in the state’s assault weapons ban. The Enforcement Notice increased assault rifle sales by 1349 (+560%) within 5 days, followed by a reduction of 211 (−58%) over the next 3 weeks. Assault rifle sales were 64%–66% lower in 2017 than in comparable earlier periods, suggesting that the Enforcement Notice reduced assault weapon sales but also that many banned weapons continued to be sold.

The concept of liquidity is intricate and subjective. It is widely studied in economic and financial realms. Researchers, aiming to comprehend and quantify liquidity, have utilized a variety of proxies in their examination of household liquidity, with household income being the primary indicator. This paper challenges the reliability of Household Income as a proxy for liquidity. Utilizing demographic and shopping behavior data, it estimates household liquidity and validates predictions by assessing the Economic Stimulus Payments influence on spending. The results suggest that integrating shopping behavior with demographic data provides a more nuanced and precise picture of household liquidity.