Comments on: Economic crisis: Saving banks or saving lives?

By: willstraw

willstraw — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 18:31:04 +0000

Thanks, Swagata. That’s a fair point about the direct correlationand we’ve amended the text accordingly. But an interesting report nonetheless.

By: Swagata

Swagata — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 16:39:16 +0000

Some of the WHO data is even older Shamik. It would help if you could set out the current suicide rates, above all is the rate now higher in Spain than in Sweden?

I still don’t see the direct correlation between healthcare spending and suicide rates. Look at the highest rates in the EU, they occur in Scandinavia, Switzerland and Austria. These are places with a healthcare system us Brits can only dream about (or pay for with BUPA).

You could be confusing correlation with causality. For example higher suicide rates exist in Scandinavia than the Mediterranean but that doesn’t mean a diet rich with herrings, or time spent playing ice hockey, has a meaningful impact on suicide levels.

By: Shamik Das

Shamik Das — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 16:18:33 +0000

That link you provide is for May 2003…

By: Swagata

Swagata — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 16:15:36 +0000

“The level of spending on healthcare has a direct correlation with the number of suicides and homicides”

Really? Note that the WHO data* on suicide levels shows that per 100,000, 19.7 Swedes commit suicide but 12.4 in Spain. Suicide levels are lower in Spain than Sweden.

Rising suicide rates in Spain are more likely to be prompted by the chronic unemployment, plunging house prices and widespread personal debt that plague Spain.

By contrast, Sweden has been spared by the recession. These factors could be more important than the level of healthcare spending.

Also, there’s a typo in the first sentence too, “reserach”.
* http://www.who.int/mental_health/prevention/suicide/suiciderates/en/