Cause of Suicide: Austerity

New study finds direct link between Greek austerity cuts and increase in male suicides

Sarah Lazare
RINF Alternative News
As governments across the world slash public goods in the name of austerity, a new study finds that such measures in Greece directly correspond with a rise in suicides among males.

Entitled The Impact of Fiscal Austerity on Suicide: On the Empirics of a Modern Greek Tragedy, the study was published in April by University of Portsmouth researchers in the journalSocial Science and Medicine.

The torrent of austerity measures following the 2008 global recession led to an increase in male suicides. According to the findings, between 2009 and 2010, 551 men in Greece took their lives “solely due to fiscal austerity.”

Researchers found that every one percent cut in public spending corresponded with a 0.43 percent increase in suicides among men in Greece.

Men between the ages of 45 and 89 are at the highest risk of austerity-caused suicide, the researchers found.

Sarah writes for Common Dreams.