Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.1080/1331677X.2018.1484788
Does unemployment have asymmetric effects on suicide rates? Evidence from the United States: 1928–2013
Yu-Hui Lin
; Department of Business Administration, Nan Kai University of Technology, Taiwan, R.O.C
Wen-Yi Chen
; Department of Senior Citizen Service Management, National Taichung University of Science and Technology, Taiwan, R.O.C.
Abstract
This study applied the recently developed asymmetric causality
test and asymmetric generalised impulse-response method to
demonstrate the dynamic relationship between unemployment and
suicide rates in the U.S. over the period of 1928–2013. The results
suggest that there exist asymmetric effects of unemployment
on suicide rates. An economic recession (in terms of an increase
in unemployment rate) is more likely to increase the suicide rate
among an old age group (55–64 years old) than among other age
groups, while an economic expansion (in terms of a decrease in
unemployment rate) is more likely to reduce the suicide rate of young
(15–24 and 25–34 years old) and middle age groups (35–44 and 45–
54 years old) than their counterpart. Therefore, policy implications
generated from our results include the following: that intervention
to prevent suicidal behaviour should be directed more towards the
older age group during economic recession and that we may expect
that an economic expansion may not result in a great reduction of
suicide rates for the old age (55–64 years) group.
Keywords
Suicide; unemployment; asymmetric Granger causality; asymmetric impulse-responses
Hrčak ID:
206113
URI
Publication date:
3.12.2018.
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