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The Discouraged Worker and Suicide in the United States

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Abstract

This paper empirically analyses whether worker discouragement is linked to suicide in the United States. This paper argues that discouraged workers might translate their frustration into alcohol or drug consumption rather than committing suicide directly. Based on the linear Granger causality test, this study finds that changes in the number female unemployed workers help to predict changes in female suicide patterns. A 1 % increase in growth in the male unemployment rate with age (45–54) will lead to a 2.8 % increase in the growth of male alcohol-induced deaths. This study finds a nonlinear causality from the female unemployment with age (25–34, 45–54, 50 and over) to drug-induced deaths. These findings suggest the importance of providing treatment for the jobless to reduce the risk for excessive alcohol consumption, drug misuse and suicidal behavior.

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Notes

  1. Liu (2014) explored the informational value of the United States unemployment rate via examining whether the labor-force participation rate is featured with non-stationary processes from the geographical location perspective. He employed the recently developed flexible Fourier stationarity test and found evidence of stationarity for 45 out of 51 states. Liu (2014) suggested that the unemployment rate alone does not provide an overall picture of the labour market dynamics.

  2. Atkinson (1978) considers that coroners hold a “common sense” theory for classifying deaths as suicide and certain factors (such as Whether or not there is a suicide note, the mode of death, location and circumstances and) biography) can influence the decision.

  3. This study thanks the Anonymous Referee for pointing this idea.

  4. Following the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), drug-induced deaths are defined as all deaths for which a drug is the underlying cause, including deaths attributable to acute poisoning by drugs (drug overdoses) and deaths from medical conditions resulting from chronic drug use. A drug includes illicit or street drugs (such as heroin or cocaine), as well as legal prescription drugs and over-the-counter drugs. Alcohol induced death includes deaths from dependent and nondependent use of alcohol, as well as deaths from accidental poisoning by alcohol.

  5. Durkheim (1897) introduced four types of suicides: Egoistic Suicide, Altruistic Suicide, Anomic Suicide and Fatalistic Suicide. Egoistic suicide is defined as a prolonged sense of not belonging, of not being integrated into a community, an experience, of not having a tether: an absence that can give rise to meaninglessness, apathy, melancholy and depression. Altruistic suicide is defined as a sense of being overwhelmed by a group's goals and beliefs. Anomic suicide is defined as an individual's moral confusion and lack of social direction, which is related to dramatic social and economic upheaval. Fatalistic suicide is defined as a person is excessively regulated, when their futures are pitilessly blocked and passions violently choked by oppressive discipline (Douglas, 1967; Pickering and Walford, 2000). We thank the Anonymous Referee for pointing out these issues.

  6. We thank the Anonymous Referee for guiding us in this direction.

  7. Öster and Agell (2007) found a statistically and economically significant effect by general unemployment on the incidence of drug possession, burglary and auto theft in Sweden during the 1990 s.

  8. For example, Ruhm and Black, 2002) explored the relationship between macro-economic conditions and drinking using individual level data from 1987 to 1999. They confirmed the procyclical variation in overall drinking. Moreover, Ruhm and Black, 2002) found that the decrease occurring during bad economic times is detected among heavy consumers, with light drinking actually increasing.

  9. This study focuses on the unemployment-suicide link at the aggregate level, enabling us to capture the effect on the economy as a whole. Subject to time series data limitations, this study does not investigate the possible unobservable individual factors that influence suicide (Ruhm 2000, 2003, 2005).

  10. This section is largely based on the work of Hamermesh and Soss (1974).

  11. Dávalos et al. (2012) provided an excellent review of the literature on the linkage between changes in employment status and alcohol consumption.

  12. Granger and Newbold (1974) pointed out that nonstationary series in regression analysis might result in ‘spurious regression’. In order deal with the non-stationary problem in time series data, this study employed growth rates instead of levels.

  13. To save space, interested readers are referred to Diks and Panchenko (2006) for technical details.

  14. Detailed results for different bandwidth are available upon request.

  15. “Telescoping” is considered as women experience more severe consequences from drug use over shorter periods of time than do men. The possible reason is that females respond differently to the effects of drugs. The gender differences in brain chemistry and the influence of female sex hormones may account for women’s susceptibility to certain drugs (Finkelstein et al. 1997; CASA 1996).

  16. Ruhm and Black (2002) found that drinking decreases in bad economic times and new job losers cut their consumption when the economy deteriorates.

  17. Gore et al. (2004) employed the 2000 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse to explore various demographic variables affecting differences in male and female alcohol consumption. They found that increased age, church attendance, marriage and Asian ethnicity are consistently related to lower consumption rates for both men and women. Moreover, unemployment is positively associated with drinking in the male model, while not being significant for females.

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Acknowledgments

Thanks go to the Editor-in-Chief, Professor Filomena Maggino, and anonymous referee for extremely and useful comments which have improved the content and presentation of this paper. However, the usual disclaimer applies.

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Correspondence to De-Chih Liu.

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Liu, DC. The Discouraged Worker and Suicide in the United States. Soc Indic Res 134, 771–787 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-016-1437-8

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