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Suicide rates in Taiwan
American Journal of Economics and Sociology, The, July, 1996 by Hwei-Lin Chuang, Wei-Chiao Huang
The pooled suicide rates of 23 cities and counties in Taiwan from 1983 to 1993 were examined using a cross-sectionally heteroscedastic and time-wise auto-regressive technique. Support was found for advocacy that economics and sociology need to join forces for a better understanding of suicide (B. Yang, "The Economcy and Suicide: A Time-Series Study of the U.S.A." American Journal of Economics and Sociology v. 51, 1992, 87-99).
It was found that a combination of economic and social variables significantly accounted for the tremendous variations in suicide rates across Taiwan's cities and counties and over time. On the whole, economic variables appeared to have greater impact on regional suicide rates than sociological correlates. In particular, the level of income per capita in a region stood out as the most important predictor of suicide rates.
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This study has also uncovered a few gender differences in the determination of regional suicide rates. The proportion of male elderly significantly raised the male suicide rates but the proportion of elderly females did not raise the female suicide rates. On the other hand, male suicide rates were not sensitive to the proportion of poor people in the region whereas female suicide rates were. Furthermore, the local suicide crisis intervention agency appeared to be especially effective in reducing female suicide rates in the region.
Inter-country comparison between the findings and those of an unpublished study by Yang in 1989 also revealed interesting similarities and differences. For example, the income variable dominated other economic and social correlates in accounting for variations in regional female suicide rates in Taiwan, but it was an insignificant determinant of state female suicide rates in the U.S. Although some puzzling findings remain unresolved, this study demonstrates that a combined economic and sociological approach to the study of suicide rate is fruitful and is likely to generate more insights in future inquiries into suicide rates in other societies and/or other time periods.
Hwei-Lin Chuang and Wei-Chiao Huang are both in departments of economics, the former at National Tsing Hua University, HsinChu, Taiwan 30043, (e-mail: hlchuang@econ.nthu.edu.tw) and the latter at Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI 49008, (e-mail: weichiao.huang@wmich.edu). Either author would be pleased to supply the entire study report upon e-mail request. They thank Ms. Li-Ling Yu, Statistician, and Ms. Li-Hsueh Lee, Chief of Statistics Section, National Bureau of Public Health, Executive Yuan, Taiwan, ROC, for generous assistance in supplying data.
COPYRIGHT 1996 American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group
