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Research article
Government Spending, Recession, and Suicide: Evidence from Japan
Tetsuya Matsubayashi
Osaka University
Corresponding Author
ORCiD: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7922-9630
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This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License. Read Full License
View the published version at BMC Public Health.
Backgrounds Austerity has been shown to have an adverse influence on people’s mental health and suicide rates. Most existing studies have focused on the governments’ reactions to a single event, for example, the Great Recession of 2008.Methods This study focused on significant changes in fiscal policy between 2001 and 2014 in Japan. The size of expenditures by national and local governments decreased dramatically between 2001 and 2006 under the neoliberal reform and then increased after the global economic crisis and the Great East Japan Earthquake. Using the data from 47 prefectures between 2001 and 2014, we tested whether more spending by the local governments was associated with a lower suicide rate in their jurisdiction. We also investigated whether this relationship was particularly salient during a more severe recession.Results Our analysis revealed that an increase of 1% in the per capita local government expenditures was associated with a decrease of 0.2% in the suicide rates among males and females aged between 40 and 64 and that this correlation was strengthened as the unemployment rate increased, particularly among males.Conclusions Government’s reaction to economic crises can either exacerbate or mitigate the negative impact of the economic recession on people’s mental health and suicide rates.
Keywords
Suicide, government spending, recession, austerity, Japan
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CURRENT STATUS: Published
Version 3
Posted 20 Dec, 2019
Published
On 21 Feb, 2020
No community comments so far
Editorial decision: Accept
On 22 Jan, 2020
Editor assigned
On 19 Dec, 2019
Submission checks complete
On 18 Dec, 2019
Editor invited
On 18 Dec, 2019
No comments provided
Editorial decision: Minor revision
On 17 Dec, 2019
Editor assigned
On 21 Nov, 2019
Submission checks complete
On 20 Nov, 2019
Editor invited
On 20 Nov, 2019
No comments provided
Editorial decision: Major revision
On 12 Nov, 2019
Review #2 received
Received 11 Nov, 2019
Reviewer #2 agreed
On 28 Oct, 2019
Reviewer #1 agreed
On 26 Oct, 2019
Review #1 received
Received 26 Oct, 2019
Submission checks complete
On 23 Oct, 2019
Reviewers invited
Invitations sent on 23 Oct, 2019
Editor assigned
On 22 Oct, 2019
Editor invited
On 21 Oct, 2019
First submitted
On 19 Oct, 2019
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This preprint is under consideration at BMC Public Health. A preprint is a preliminary version of a manuscript that has not completed peer review at a journal. Research Square does not conduct peer review prior to posting preprints. The posting of a preprint on this server should not be interpreted as an endorsement of its validity or suitability for dissemination as established information or for guiding clinical practice.
Learn more about In Review
Research article
Government Spending, Recession, and Suicide: Evidence from Japan
Tetsuya Matsubayashi
Osaka University
Corresponding Author
ORCiD: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7922-9630
Badges
Prescreen
This manuscript passed our Prescreen assessment
Complete author information
Appropriate declaration statements
Potential risks to human health
Prescreen
Peer Review Timeline
CURRENT STATUS: Published
Version 3
Posted 20 Dec, 2019
Published
On 21 Feb, 2020
No community comments so far
Editorial decision: Accept
On 22 Jan, 2020
Editor assigned
On 19 Dec, 2019
Submission checks complete
On 18 Dec, 2019
Editor invited
On 18 Dec, 2019
No comments provided
Editorial decision: Minor revision
On 17 Dec, 2019
Editor assigned
On 21 Nov, 2019
Submission checks complete
On 20 Nov, 2019
Editor invited
On 20 Nov, 2019
No comments provided
Editorial decision: Major revision
On 12 Nov, 2019
Review #2 received
Received 11 Nov, 2019
Reviewer #2 agreed
On 28 Oct, 2019
Reviewer #1 agreed
On 26 Oct, 2019
Review #1 received
Received 26 Oct, 2019
Submission checks complete
On 23 Oct, 2019
Reviewers invited
Invitations sent on 23 Oct, 2019
Editor assigned
On 22 Oct, 2019
Editor invited
On 21 Oct, 2019
First submitted
On 19 Oct, 2019
Metrics
Comments: 0
PDF Downloads: ...
HTML Views: ...
License:
This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License. Read Full License
View the published version at BMC Public Health.
Backgrounds Austerity has been shown to have an adverse influence on people’s mental health and suicide rates. Most existing studies have focused on the governments’ reactions to a single event, for example, the Great Recession of 2008.Methods This study focused on significant changes in fiscal policy between 2001 and 2014 in Japan. The size of expenditures by national and local governments decreased dramatically between 2001 and 2006 under the neoliberal reform and then increased after the global economic crisis and the Great East Japan Earthquake. Using the data from 47 prefectures between 2001 and 2014, we tested whether more spending by the local governments was associated with a lower suicide rate in their jurisdiction. We also investigated whether this relationship was particularly salient during a more severe recession.Results Our analysis revealed that an increase of 1% in the per capita local government expenditures was associated with a decrease of 0.2% in the suicide rates among males and females aged between 40 and 64 and that this correlation was strengthened as the unemployment rate increased, particularly among males.Conclusions Government’s reaction to economic crises can either exacerbate or mitigate the negative impact of the economic recession on people’s mental health and suicide rates.
Figure 1
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