The debt crisis, austerity measures, and suicide in Greece

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundHow are economic downturns and suicide related?ObjectiveThis study examines the link between economically driven austerity measures implemented during a recent economic downturn—the Greek debt crisis—and suicide for the population as a whole, as well as for men and women separately.MethodsUtilizing a 50‐nation panel containing annual suicide counts and population demographics for the years 1995–2015 from the World Health Organization's Mortality archive, the analysis employs a synthetic control design, a quasi‐experimental approach that allows us to causally model the relationship between Greece's International Monetary Fund‐imposed austerity measures and suicide, something that has hampered prior research efforts.ResultsFindings show austerity policies corresponded with increased suicide rates in Greece for the population as a whole and for men and women. Robustness tests confirm these results.ConclusionsWe discuss the implications of the findings for the current economic crisis associated with the COVID‐19 pandemic.