MEDIA ADVISORY
March 23, 2011

NEW STUDY: REDUCTIONS IN VIOLENCE, INCREASE IN PEACE IN THE U.S., COULD YIELD HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS TO U.S. ECONOMY

RELEASE OF UNITED STATES PEACE INDEX, FIRST-EVER RANKING OF STATES FROM MOST TO LEAST PEACEFUL

Index Reveals Factors Related to Education, Health and Opportunity Strongly Correlate with Levels of Peace

WHAT: A briefing hosted by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) to release the inaugural United States Peace Index (USPI), the first-ever index ranking U.S. states based on levels of peacefulness. Panelists will discuss the impact that current levels of violence, crime, and incarceration rates have on the U.S. economy and highlight potential economic benefits that would result from an improvement in peace. The panel will also provide an in-depth look at how select socio-economic factors, including access to education, healthcare and economic opportunity, correlate with the USPI rankings.

WHEN: Wednesday, April 6, 9:00 a.m. ET

WHERE: The National Press Club, Holeman Lounge, 529 14th Street NW, Washington, DC

DETAILS: Release of the first-ever United States Peace Index (USPI) by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP). IEP is the international think-tank that produces the annual Global Peace Index, a ground-breaking analysis that ranks 149 countries by levels of peace.
Drawing on the findings from the USPI, the IEP estimates that a reduction in violence in the U.S. would result in hundreds of billions of dollars, comprised of savings for government at the federal and state level and additional economic activity.

The aim of the USPI is to further understand the types of environments associated with peace, quantify the potential economic benefits of increased peacefulness, analyze the fabric of peace within the United States, and serve as a framework for additional studies. The data used to construct the Index is drawn from the Bureau of Justice Statistics, Federal Bureau of Investigation and Centers for Disease Control.
The report finds that while some states continue to make strides in curbing levels of violence and crime, others have seen a decrease in peacefulness and are experiencing a greater economic strain due to high rates of incarceration.

When correlated against various socio-economic factors, the USPI finds that certain factors such as education, access to healthcare and economic opportunity are strongly related to peace, while factors such as political affiliation are not.

WHO: Steve Killelea, Chairman and Founder, the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP)
Steven Kull, Director, WorldPublicOpinion.org and the Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA)
Additional participants to be announced.

CONTACT: Michelle Breslauer, (w) 646.963.2160, (c) 347.935.1868, mbreslauer@economicsandpeace.org
Amgad Naguib, (w) 202.289.6305, (c) 202.423.0129, amgad.naguib@edelman.com

The U.S. Peace Index, related maps and charts will go live at www.visionofhumanity.org on April 6.

About the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP)
Established in 2007 the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) is an independent, non-partisan and not-for-profit research institute dedicated to building a greater understanding of the key drivers and measures of peace and to identifying the economic benefits that increased peacefulness can deliver.
The Institute’s ground-breaking research includes the Global Peace Index (GPI), the first-ever analysis to methodically rank countries on their peacefulness and identify potential drivers of peace. The Institute seeks to generate dialogue & increase public debate on peace, to impact the public agenda and to help quantify the economic impacts of greater or lesser peacefulness.

For more information on the Institute for Economics and Peace, visit www.economicsandpeace.org
or follow the Global Peace Index on Twitter @GlobPeaceIndex.