A Study of Suicide and Socioeconomic Factors

Abstract

The topic of suicide has long been an important socioeconomic issue studied in many countries. Suicides inject an atmosphere of unrest into society, and media attention furthers that social uneasiness. From the viewpoint of economics and management, suicide is a waste of human resource: it decreases the labor force in society and deteriorates human capital. This paper provides a series of analyses of suicide rate based on theoretical reasoning and empirical approaches. Aggregate data from G7 countries are obtained and stacked into panel data for analysis. Data are collected for different age groups. Even though suicide issues have been extensively discussed in the past, newly developed econometric tools are applied to her. Beyond previously recognized relationships between economic factors and suicide rates findings include that unemployment strikes men more than women in terms of psychological pressure: for middle age or older women, unemployment may even be positive for the entire family; and female labor force participation exerts pressure on male counterparts and increases its suicide rate. As a result, a low income family with an unemployed man and an employed woman is at high risk for adult male suicide.

Social-Environmental Factors and Suicide Mortality: A Narrative Review of over 200 Articles

“…While most studies have reported that higher unemployment is accompanied by an increase in suicide rates (Abe, 2004;Andres & Halicioglu, 2010;Berk et al, 2006;Blakely, Collings, & Atkinson, 2003;Chang, Sterne, Huang, Chuang, & Gunnell, 2010;Chen, Yip, Lee, Fan, & Fu, 2010;Chuang & Huang, 2007;Corcoran & Arensman, 2011;Fernquist, 2007;Kuroki, 2010;Lewis & Sloggett, 1998;Lin, 2006;Milner, McClure, et al, 2012;Preti & Miotto, 1999;Tsai & Cho, 2011;Yamasaki, Sakai, & Shirakawa, 2005;Ying & Chang, 2009), a smaller number of studies have found no or mixed evidence of this association Crawford & Prince, 1999;Lucey et al, 2005;Platt, Micciolo, & Tansella, 1992).…”

Suicídio no Brasil, de 2000 a 2012

“…Entre adultos e pessoas de meia-idade, são mais expressivos fatores socioeconômicos relacionados ao trabalho e pressão familiar, principalmente entre o sexo masculino. Entre os idosos predomina a inabilidade de lidar com o processo de envelhecimento e suas implicações, como problemas de saúde e pressões emocionais 34 . Assim sendo, a forma como a sociedade se organiza e trata seus pares, promovendo ou não condições de qualidade de vida, cuidado e saúde, poderá influenciar na redução das taxas de suicídio entre as distintas faixas etárias.…”

Worldwide impact of economic cycles on suicide trends over 3 decades: differences according to level of development. A mixed effect model study

“…10 In addition, the global change in economic activities that has taken place over the past 60 years has deeply affected people's emotional health and may have influenced suicide rates. 11 Gross domestic product (GDP), a measure of economic activity, has been negatively correlated with suicide rates, suggesting that suicide rates drop in times of economic expansion 11 and increase in times of recession. 12 In recent times, Luo et al 13 suggested that business cycles affect suicide rates in the USA: the overall suicide rate usually rises during recessions and falls during expansions.…”