INVESTIGATION INTO THE IMPACT OF PUBLIC FAMILY SPENDING ON SUICIDE RATE AMONG YOUNG ADULTS

Abstract

Suicide, which takes one life every 40 seconds, is a global public health issue that needs to be dealt with priority. This paper examines whether public spending on family benefits has any effect on suicide rates of general and young adult populations. Using a two-way fixed effects model and a cross-country panel dataset consisting of observations from 23 OECD countries, I find a positive link between public family spending and suicide rates of both populations, which appears to be more pronounced in males. The elasticities, however, are comparable across genders. Based on these results, the paper offers policy recommendations that can help mitigate possible detrimental impacts.