Analysis of the Socioeconomic Difficulties Affecting the Suicide Rate in Japan

Ryoichi Watanabe (), Masakazu Furukawa, Ryota Nakamura and Yoshiaki Ogura
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Ryoichi Watanabe: Institute of Economic Research, Kyoto University
Masakazu Furukawa: Graduate School of Economics, Kyoto University
Ryota Nakamura: Graduate School of Economics, Kyoto University

No 626, KIER Working Papers from Kyoto University, Institute of Economic Research

Abstract: This paper focuses on the drastic increase observed in the Japanese male suicide rate in the late 1990s and early 2000s and confirms unemployment and personal bankruptcy to be the associated socioeconomic factors behind the male suicide variation. Personal bankruptcy is also confirmed to be significant in the female suicide variation. The relationship is confirmed through a pooled data analysis by a middle-aged group and by prefecture. Further, the paper focused on the association between the unemployment rate and suicide mortality by incorporating the reasons for unemployment in the monthly regression. Next, we identified a significant association between male suicide variations and changes in some of the reasons for being unemployed. The interpretation of the results implies that the risk of unemployment among men has been mitigated by the unemployment insurance rather than the bias in the reasons reported and/or mental disorder in Japan.

Pages: 20pages
Date: 2006-12
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hea and nep-sea
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (12)

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