Do generous unemployment benefit programs reduce suicide rates? A state fixed-effect analysis covering 1968-2008.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Cylus J
PROVIDER: S-EPMC4070935 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jul
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Do generous unemployment benefit programs reduce suicide rates? A state fixed-effect analysis covering 1968-2008.
Cylus Jonathan J Glymour M Maria MM Avendano Mauricio M
American journal of epidemiology 20140617 1
The recent economic recession has led to increases in suicide, but whether US state unemployment insurance programs ameliorate this association has not been examined. Exploiting US state variations in the generosity of benefit programs between 1968 and 2008, we tested the hypothesis that more generous unemployment benefit programs reduce the impact of economic downturns on suicide. Using state linear fixed-effect models, we found a negative additive interaction between unemployment rates and ben ...[more]
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