An Economic Interpretation of Suicide Cycles in Japan

Abstract

"Suicide rates in Japan have increased dramatically in recent years, making Japan's male rate the highest among developed economies. This study revises the standard economic model of suicide to accommodate Japan's experience, focusing on the change in human capital for the unemployed. We then use the new model and detrended data to empirically investigate the relationship between the suicide cycle and the unemployment cycle. Unlike previous aggregate time series studies, we find that the relationship between the suicide rate and the unemployment rate is significantly and robustly positive for both men and women even after controlling for several social variables. "("JEL "I12, J60, E30) Copyright 2007 Western Economic Association International.

Determinants of suicides in Denmark: Evidence from time series data

“…The empirical literature on suicide reports evidence that divorce is positively associated with suicide rates [20], [23], [24], [31], [15], [22]. Also, some papers show that the male suicide rate is more sensitive to divorce than the female suicide rate [29], [20], [32], [22]. Again, endogeneity concerns are relevant here, as divorce might be related to mental health problems.…”

“…The unemployment rate is often used as a proxy variable for economic hardships and lifetime earnings, because measuring an person's agent's lifetime income is not easy in practice [29]. But unemployment might be also associated with factors such as depressive episodes, anxiety, and loss of selfconfidence that might lead directly to suicide.…”

“…The empirical findings are fairly mixed. Much of the empirical literature reports a positive relationship, associating higher unemployment with higher suicide rates [21], [27], [23], [24], [30], [20], [29], [25]. Furthermore, the impact of unemployment might also differ across gender.…”

A Review of Health Consequences of Recessions Internationally and a Synthesis of the US Response during the Great Recession

“…Twenty-one studies examined suicides or attempted suicides and found a marked increase in these outcomes during economic downturns. 12,17,18,37,39,63,71,78,79,89,91,97,103,116,117,[120][121][122][123][124]126 The increases in suicides were concentrated in working age men, and the results were found across multiple populations including the United Kingdom, 63,78 the US, 12 Spain, 121 Italy 122 and Japan 116,120,123 as well as across time periods. 18,39 The relationship between unemployment and suicides does seem to be context specific because such relationships have not been found in Sweden, 79 Finland, 89,91 and Australia.…”

Comparison of Social Trust's effect on suicide ideation between urban and non-urban areas: The Case of Japanese Adults in 2006

“…2 In Japan in the 21st century, suicide became a more serious issue than in prior centuries; hence, it is crucial to implement measures to prevent suicide. 3 Economic researchers have provided evidence that the increase in the suicide rate was caused partly by the economic conditions (e.g., Koo and Cox 2008;Chen et al 2009;Inagaki 2010;Kuroki 2010;Sugano and Matsuki 2014, Suzuki et al 2013;2014). 4 However, consistent with Durkheim's view, social factors are also significantly related to the suicide rate in Japan (e.g., Yamamura 2010, Andrés et al 2011; Sugano and Matsuki 2014).…”