Abstract
The suggestion that increases in unemployment lead to increases in suicides is perhaps the most dramatic example of the argument that there are important social costs of unemployment in addition to the loss of output which could have been produced by the unemployed workers. In this paper I propose to discuss and illustrate the problems which can arise when attempts are made to investigate the relationship between unemployment and suicidal behaviour.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Balusu, L. and Alderson, M. (1984) ‘Suicides 1950–82’, Population Trends, 35, 11–17.
Banks, M. H. and Jackson, P. R. (1982) ‘Unemployment and Risk of Young People: Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Evidence’, Psychological Medicine, 12, 789–98.
Brenner, M. H. (1985) ‘Economic Change and Mortality by Cause in Selected European Countries’, in Westcott, G., Svensson, P. G. and Zollner, H. F. K. (eds), Health Policy Implications of Unemployment, Copenhagen: WHO.
Fox, A. J. and Goldblatt, P. O. (1982) Socio-Demographic Mortality Differentials: Longitudinal Study 1971–75, London: HMSO.
Gravelle, H. S. E. (1984) ‘Time Series Analysis of Mortality and Unemployment’, Journal of Health Economics, 3, 297–305.
Gravelle, H. S. E., Hutchinson, G. and Stern, J. (1981) ‘Mortality and Unemployment: A Critique of Brenner’s Time Series Analysis’, Lancet, ii, 675–9.
Harvey, A. C. (1981) The Econometric Analysis of Time Series, Deddington: Philip Allan.
Johnson, J. (1984) Econometric Methods, 3rd edn, London: McGraw-Hill.
Kreitman N. and Platt, S. (1984) ‘Suicide, Unemployment and Domestic Gas Detoxification in Great Britain’, Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 38, 1–6.
Marshall, J. R. (1981) ‘Political Integration and the Effect of War on Suicide: United States, 1933–1976’, Social Forces, 59, 771–85.
Moser, K. A., Fox, A. J. and Jones, D. R. (1984) ‘Unemployment and Mortality in the OPCS Longitudinal Study’, Lancet, ii, 1324–9.
Platt, S. (1984) ‘Unemployment and Suicidal Behaviour: A Review of the Literature’, Social Science and Medicine, 19, 93–115.
Platt, S. (1985a) ‘Suicidal Behaviour and Unemployment: A Literature Review’, in Westcott, G., Svensson, P. G. and Zollner, H. F. K. (eds), Health Policy Implications of Unemployment, Copenhagen: WHO.
Platt, S. (1985b), ‘Parasuicide and Unemployment Among Men in Edinburgh 1963–1983’, paper presented at Centre for Economic Policy Research, Workshop on Health and Unemployment, 1 February.
Platt, S. and Kreitman, N. (1984) ‘Trends in Parasuicide and Unemployment Among Men in Edinburgh, 1968–1982’, British Medical Journal, 289, 1029–32.
Stern, J. (1983) ‘The Relationship Between Unemployment, Morbidity and Mortality in Britain’, Population Studies 37, 61–74.
Watkins, S (1985) ‘Recession and Health: A Literature Review’, in Westcott, G., Svensson, P. G. and Zollner, H. F. K. (eds), Health Policy Implications Of Unemployment, Copenhagen: WHO.
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 1987 The British Association for the Advancement of Science
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Gravelle, H. (1987). Suicide, Selection and Unemployment. In: Williams, A. (eds) Health and Economics. British Association for the Advancement of Science. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-18800-0_6
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-18800-0_6
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-0-333-43735-3
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-18800-0
eBook Packages: Palgrave Social & Cultural Studies CollectionSocial Sciences (R0)