Department of Health Policy and Management, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Department of Health Policy and Management, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Am J Prev Med. 2019 May;56(5):648-654. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2018.12.008. Epub 2019 Mar 21.
The suicide rate in the U.S. has been increasing in recent years. Previous studies have consistently identified financial stress as a contributing factor in suicides. Nevertheless, there has been little research on the effect of economic policies that can alleviate financial stress on suicide rates. The purpose of this study is to determine whether increases in state minimum wages have been associated with changes in state suicide rates.
A retrospective panel data study was conducted. In 2018, linear regression models with state fixed effects were used to estimate the relationship between changes in state minimum wages and suicide rates for all 50U.S. states between 2006 and 2016. Models controlled for time-varying state characteristics that could be associated with changes in minimum wages and suicide rates.
There were approximately 432,000 deaths by suicide in the study period. A one-dollar increase in the real minimum wage was associated on average with a 1.9% decrease in the annual state suicide rate in adjusted analyses. This negative association was most consistent in years since 2011. An annual decrease of 1.9% in the suicide rate during the study period would have resulted in roughly 8,000 fewer deaths by suicide. Analyses by race and sex did not reveal substantial variation in the association between minimum wages and suicides.
Increases in real minimum wages have been associated with slower growth in state suicide rates in recent years. Increasing the minimum wage could represent a strategy for addressing increases in suicide rates.
近年来，美国的自杀率一直在上升。先前的研究一致认为，经济压力是导致自杀的一个因素。然而，关于可以缓解经济压力的经济政策对自杀率的影响的研究甚少。本研究旨在确定州最低工资的提高是否与州自杀率的变化有关。
进行了回顾性面板数据分析。2018 年，采用具有州固定效应的线性回归模型，估计了 2006 年至 2016 年期间美国所有 50 个州的最低工资变化与自杀率之间的关系。模型控制了可能与最低工资和自杀率变化相关的随时间变化的州特征。
在研究期间，约有 432,000 人死于自杀。在调整后的分析中，实际最低工资每增加 1 美元，平均与州自杀率每年下降 1.9%相关。这种负相关在 2011 年以来的年份最为一致。在研究期间，自杀率每年下降 1.9%，将导致自杀死亡人数减少约 8000 人。按种族和性别进行的分析并未显示出最低工资与自杀之间的关联存在实质性差异。
近年来，实际最低工资的提高与州自杀率的增长放缓有关。提高最低工资可能是解决自杀率上升问题的一种策略。
