Economic and social correlates of regional suicide rates: A pooled cross-section and time-series analysis

This paper uses a cross-sectionally hetero scedastic and time-wise autoregressive technique to examine the pooled suicide rates of 23 cities and counties in Taiwan from 1983 to 1993. A combination of economic and sociological variables were found to account for a significant proportion of the variations in suicide rates across regions and over time. Economic variables appeared to have a greater impact on regional suicide rates than sociological correlates. In particular, the level of income per capita in a region stood out as the most important predictor of the suicide rate. This study has also uncovered gender differences in the effect of some correlates on regional suicide rates, such as the proportion of the poverty population in the region and the presence of a local life-line center.