Does Economic Growth Affect Suicide?
Abstract
This paper uses a panel dataset of all fifty states and the District of Columbia to examine the relationship between state economic growth and suicide rates. Using ordinary least squares techniques as well as state and year level fixed effects, I find no statistically significant relationship between economic growth and suicide. However, the state fixed effects reveal massive variation in suicide at the state level, which bode interesting questions such as why do some states have extremely high suicide rates and others extremely low? For example, my results suggest that the liklihood of someone committing suicide in Alaska increases by 7.45 suicides per 100,000 relative to Alabama.
Session Name:
Issues in Health Economics
Start Date
10-4-2015 1:15 PM
End Date
10-4-2015 2:15 PM
Location
HSB 300
Does Economic Growth Affect Suicide?
HSB 300
This paper uses a panel dataset of all fifty states and the District of Columbia to examine the relationship between state economic growth and suicide rates. Using ordinary least squares techniques as well as state and year level fixed effects, I find no statistically significant relationship between economic growth and suicide. However, the state fixed effects reveal massive variation in suicide at the state level, which bode interesting questions such as why do some states have extremely high suicide rates and others extremely low? For example, my results suggest that the liklihood of someone committing suicide in Alaska increases by 7.45 suicides per 100,000 relative to Alabama.