Economics of suicide (IN: Handbook of Labor, Human Resources and Population Economics, edited by K.F. Zimmermann)

Suicide is a global phenomenon causing tremendous social, emotional, and economic costs. Yet while suicide deaths are widespread, well-identified empirical studies in economics remain rare. This chapter reviews the leading economic models of suicide, followed by a discussion on stylized empirical patterns found in suicide rates. It summarizes the empirical evidence on which macroeconomic and microeconomic factors are predictive of suicide rates, highlighting potential risk factors of suicidal behavior. The chapter concludes with an overview of studies analyzing interventions to limit suicide mortality. These include interventions to restrict access to deadly means such as gun laws. These also include medical interventions to treat physical and mental health and substance abuse. Open questions in the literature are highlighted.