Suicides in India: An Alternative Economic Perspective

Abstract

Suicides in India are steadily increasing over the last two decades. This period coincides with the time during which the Indian economy has achieved high growth and integrated globally through fundamental structural changes. This paper examines the pattern of suicides in the country as revealed by the official statistics and finds the relative shares of suicides to have increased in several prosperous states, which are also the more globalised states. It finds suicides in most of these states, which have high urban income inequality, to be largest among self-employed (others). While farmer suicides show a welcome declining trend in recent years, the increasing tendency of self-employed (others) to take their lives in India's prosperous states is a disturbing trend. The paper argues that lack of adequate livelihood opportunities, low skills, limited access to formal credit and absence of social security support are precipitating suicides in the rapidly enlarging informal sector of a restructuring Indian economy.