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Crisis, suicide and labour productivity losses in Spain

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Abstract

Objectives

Suicide became the first cause of death between the ages of 15 and 44 in Spain in the year 2013. Moreover, the suicide rate in Spain went up by more than 9 % with respect to the previous year. This increase could be related to the serious economic recession that Spain has been experiencing in recent years. In this sense, there is a lack of evidence to help assess to what extent these suicides have a social cost in terms of losses in human capital. Firstly, this article examines the relationship between the variables related to the economic cycle and the suicide rates in the 17 Spanish regions. Secondly, an estimate is made of the losses in labour productivity owing to these suicides.

Methodology

In this article, panel data models are used to consider different variables related to the economic cycle. Demographic variables and the suicide rates for regions across Spain from 2002 to 2013 also come into play. The present and future production costs owing to premature death from suicide are calculated using a human capital model. These costs are valued from the gross salary that an individual no longer receives in the future at the very moment he or she leaves the labour market.

Results

The results provide a strong indication that a decrease in economic growth and an increase in unemployment negatively affect suicide rates. Due to suicide, 38,038 potential years of working life were lost in 2013. This has an estimated cost of over 565 million euros.

Conclusions

The economic crisis endured by Spain in recent years has played a role in the higher suicide rates one can observe from the data in official statistics. From a social perspective, suicide is a public health problem with far-reaching consequences.

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Notes

  1. External cause of death relates to cases where the underlying cause of death is determined to be one of a group of causes external to the body (for example suicide, transport accidents, falls or poisoning). These are found in chapter XX of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD 10).

  2. Quantities expressed in euros for 2012.

  3. How long a person can receive benefits is influenced by the amount of time he or she had been paying National Insurance as a worker in the 6 years prior to becoming legally unemployed. The arrangement has a scale that includes 360 days of work leading to 120 days of unemployment benefit. Therefore the maximum payment of National Insurance of 6 years (2160 days) leads to a maximum period of coverage of 720 days.

  4. Since 2004, the EES [72] was carried out on a yearly basis to complement the results from the Four-Yearly Salary Structure Survey. The methodologies and classifications used for both surveys are different. In 2003, the survey had not been carried out; for this reason, there are no data.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge the support received from the research project ECON2013-48217-C2-2R “Impacto económico, sanitario y social de las enfermedades y los problemas de salud: información y herramientas para la evaluación de políticas públicas”.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Applied Economics, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of A Coruña, A Coruña, Spain

    Berta Rivera & Bruno Casal

  2. University College of Labour Relations, University of A Coruña, A Coruña, Spain

    Bruno Casal

  3. Department of Economic Analysis and Business Administration, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of A Coruña, A Coruña, Spain

    Luis Currais

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  1. Berta Rivera
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  2. Bruno Casal
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  3. Luis Currais
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Correspondence to Berta Rivera.

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Rivera, B., Casal, B. & Currais, L. Crisis, suicide and labour productivity losses in Spain. Eur J Health Econ 18, 83–96 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10198-015-0760-3

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