Year: 2021 Source: Journal of Statistical and Econometric Methods. (2021). 10(4), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.47260/jsem/1041 SIEC No: 20210696

This paper revisits the purported impact of socioeconomic and social environment factors on annual, U.S. state-level suicide rates. Special attention is paid to the righthand-side linking covariates directly to Durkheim’s (1897/1951) significant contributions to established ecological suicide research. Results from a Hausman-Taylor panel specification lend little support to Durkheim’s social integration/regulation
hypothesis that aggregate social forces matter in explaining variations in regional suicide rates. Data from 1990-2019 and the advanced empirical method support the mounting sentiment of an abiding ecological fallacy plaguing suicidology.