Understanding Suicide in Türkiye: The Role of Income, Unemployment, Consumer Loans, Cost of Living, and Health Expenditure

Authors : Gökçen Aydınbaş, Merve Ünlüoğlu

Pages : 795-814

Doi:10.21121/eab.20250410

View : 171 | Download : 598

Publication Date : 2025-11-04

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :A healthy and fulfilling life is essential for individuals to engage effectively and productively within society. The absence of these conditions can increase vulnerability to mental health issues and, in severe cases, lead to suicidal behavior. Suicide is a complex and pressing social issue that reflects not only individual suffering but also broader socioeconomic challenges. Individuals experiencing economic hardship, social isolation, or unmet basic needs are at a heightened risk for suicide, highlighting the need for a comprehensive public health response. It is essential to understand the key contributing factors to develop effective prevention strategies and inform sound social policy. This study aims to investigate the relationship between suicide and various socio-economic factors — including income, unemployment, consumer loans, cost of living, and health expenditure — in Türkiye over the period 1993–2023, using the ARDL bounds testing approach. According to the cointegration test, it is inferred that there is a long-run relationship among the variables. Long-run coefficients show that increases in income and health expenditure reduce suicide cases, while increases in consumer loans increase suicide cases. The coefficient of the error correction term is negative and statistically significant as anticipated. In addition, the results were tested using the FMOLS method, and similar to the ARDL model, the negative relationship between income and the dependent variable and the positive relationship between consumer loans and the dependent variable were found. The causality relationship is investigated by the Toda-Yamamoto test. The findings obtained from this test show that GDP per capita and consumer loans are Granger causes of suicide.
Keywords : İntihar, Gayri Safi Yurt İçi Hasıla, Tüketici Kredileri, İşsizlik, ARDL Sınır Testi Yaklaşımı

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