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The research introduces the first quantitative effort to document the small arms market using a dataset of AK-47 prices across 117 countries from 1986 to 2005. By applying a simultaneous equations model, the author finds that regulatory effectiveness and supply costs—specifically neighbours' military expenditure and border porousness—are the primary drivers of weapon prices. The study concludes that the collapse of the Soviet Union did not cause a supply shock as significant as commonly believed, and that regional trade dynamics, particularly in Africa, play a critical role in price determination.