An Economic Interpretation of Suicide Cycles in Japan (Research Department Working Paper 0603)

This study revises the standard economic model of suicide to accommodate Japan’s experience, focussing on the change in human capital for the unemployed. The authors then use the new model & de-trended data to investigate empirically the relationship between the suicide cycle & the unemployment cycle. Unlike previous aggregate time series studies, it was found that the relationship between the suicide rate & the unemployment rate is significantly & robustly positive for males & females even after controlling for several social variables. (34 refs.) JA