Though there is clinical evidence linking pollution induced inflammatory factors and major depression and suicide, no definitive study of risk in the community exists. In this study, we provide the first population-based estimates of the relationship between air pollution and suicide in the...

This paper documents a longitudinal crisis of midlife among the inhabitants of rich nations. Yet middle-aged citizens in our data sets are close to their peak earnings, have typically experienced little or no illness, reside in some of the safest countries in the world, and live in the most...

In this paper, I study the role of payday loan restrictions on suicide and overdose deaths. Payday lenders offer ``quick cash'' and charge high fees relative to the principle loan amounts. Concerns about payday loans trapping borrowers in debt have led 21 U.S. states and the District of Columbia...

We investigate the relationship between opioid diverting policy and suicides among the U.S. veteran population. The opioid epidemic of the past two decades has had devastating health consequences among U.S. veterans and military personnel. In 2013, the Veterans Health Administration (VA)...

Since the landmark ruling in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health in 2004, the legalization of same-sex marriage (SSM) has proliferated throughout the United States via either legislative action or court order. Advocates of SSM laws argue that marriage equality will generate important health...

Background: This study investigates the cross-country long run relationship between suicides and macroeconomic variables (unemployment, per capita income, and inflation). It is hypothesized that while inflation level and unemployment level stimulate suicide and intentional self-harm in a...

Impulsivity varies substantially across individuals and time and is known in theneurological literature to impact behavior. We show that impulsivity impacts thenumber of suicides in a standard Hamermesh and Soss (1974) model by influencingthe discount rate. Using state-year level data from 1993...

Impulsivity varies substantially across individuals and time and is known in theneurological literature to impact behavior. We show that impulsivity impacts thenumber of suicides in a standard Hamermesh and Soss (1974) model by influencingthe discount rate. Using state-year level data from 1993...

Suicides represent an encompassing measure of psychological wellbeing, emotional stability as well as life satisfaction, and they have been recently identified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a major global health concern. The G20 countries represent the powerhouse of global economic...

Recessions are complex events that affect personal health and behavior via various potentially opposing mechanisms. While recessions are known to have negative effects on mental health and lead to an increase in suicides, it has been proven that they reduce mortality rates. A general health...

This study uses the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) and the National Comorbidity Survey (NCS) to explore the causal relationship between alcohol abuse (binge drinking and clinically defined alcohol use disorders) and suicide attempts among youth. We use an empirical approach that allows one to...

This paper has a double purpose: to see how well Durkheim's (1897) findings apply a century later, and to see if the beneficial effects of social capital on suicide prevention are parallel to those already found for subjective well-being (Helliwell 2003). The results show that more social...

Suicide rates in Sri Lanka have steadily risen from the 1970’s to peak in 1995 thereafter showing a gradual decrease. We investigated whether pesticide control regulations had an impact on suicide rates. A graphical approach and regression analysis was used to identify time trends in suicide...

This paper examines whether the COVID-19-induced employment shocks have increased suicides and safety net use in the second and third quarters of 2020. We exploit plausibly exogenous regional variation in the magnitude of the employment shocks in Japan and adopt a difference-in-differences...

On almost all measures of physical health, Scots fare worse than residents of any other region of the UK and often worse than the rest of Europe. Deaths from chronic liver disease and lung cancer are particularly prevalent in Scotland. The self-assessed wellbeing of Scots is lower than that of...

This paper investigates whether there are gender differences in the effects of unemployment and sentiment on suicide rates. We apply linear and nonlinear auto-regressive distributed lag (ARDL) models to monthly Australian data from February 1990 to September 2018. As expected, we find a positive...

This paper investigates whether there are gender differences in the effects of unemployment and sentiment on suicide rates. We apply linear and nonlinear auto-regressive distributed lag (ARDL) models to monthly Australian data from February 1990 to September 2018. As expected, we find a positive...

Suicide rates among youths aged 15-24 have tripled in the past half-century, even as rates for adults and the elderly have declined. And for every youth suicide completion, there are nearly 400 suicide attempts. This paper examines the dynamics of youth suicide attempts and completions, and...

The purpose of this paper is to examine the causal impact of alcohol and illicit drug use on suicidal behaviors among college students. Every year, more American youth die from suicide than from all leading natural causes of death combined. Substance use has been identified as a leading risk...

I use 2018-2020 prefecture-month-year level and gender-month-year level data on suicide rates in Japan to document how suicide rates are evolving during the COVID-19 pandemic. I use a monthly event study design to study changes in suicide rates surrounding Japan’s COVID-19 state of emergency...

Who chooses suicide attacks? Though rebels typically target poor countries, suicide attacks are just as likely to target rich democracies. Though many groups have grievances, suicide attacks are favored by the radical religious. Though rebels often kill coreligionists, they seldom use suicide...

2017-2020 data from Medical Examiner Offices of 19 large U.S. counties is collected to study how suicides evolved during the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic. I use these data to obtain three key findings. First, I document that the total number of suicides per month was increasing during...

Suicides are due to many factors. Psychology has been used to explain via many theories mental disorder and depression. I admit that suicides are to a great extent attributed to mental disorder. However, to the best of my knowledge there are also additional factors of non-medical nature. To make...

Weekly mortality through October 3 is partitioned into normal deaths, COVID, and nonCOVID excess deaths (NCEDs). Before March, the excess is negative for the elderly, likely due to the mild flu season. From March onward, excess deaths are approximately 250,000 of which about 17,000 appear to be...

Weekly mortality through October 3 is partitioned into normal deaths, COVID, and nonCOVID excess deaths (NCEDs). Before March, the excess is negative for the elderly, likely due to the mild flu season. From March onward, excess deaths are approximately 250,000 of which about 17,000 appear to be...

On almost all measures of physical health, Scots fare worse than residents of any other region of the UK and often worse than the rest of Europe. Deaths from chronic liver disease and lung cancer are particularly prevalent in Scotland. The self-assessed wellbeing of Scots is lower than that of...

This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of the link between suicidal behaviors and labor market productivity of young adults in the United States. Using data from the National Survey of Adolescent Health (Add Health), we estimate the effects of suicide thoughts and suicide attempts on the...

We examine the economic and social determinants of suicide mortality in a panel of 25 OECD countries over the period 1970-2011 and explicitly analyze the effects of unemployment and labor market institutions on suicide rates. In line with a large body of literature our results suggest that...

In this paper, we investigate the relationship between the unemployment rate and suicide rate using data from all provinces of Iran and over the years 2009–2015. We exploit the variations in national industry-specific labor demand changes and province-level industry-composition as plausibly...

In recent decades, death rates from poisonings, suicides, and alcoholic liver disease have dramatically increased in the United States. We show that these "deaths of despair" began to increase relative to trend in the early 1990s, that this increase was preceded by a decline in religious...

Despite the growing skepticism regarding the efficacy of antidepressants, global consumption has increased at an unprecedented rate with unknown implications for society. We estimate the causal effect of this increase on mental health outcomes using an instrumental variable strategy that...

Weekly mortality through October 3 is partitioned into normal deaths, COVID, and nonCOVID excess deaths (NCEDs). Before March, the excess is negative for the elderly, likely due to the mild flu season. From March onward, excess deaths are approximately 250,000 of which about 17,000 appear to be...