Ekonomins effekt på självmordsgraden : Fallet Sverige under Mellankrigstiden

Sammanfattning: Since Emile Durkheims work “Le suicide” (1897) there has been a long tradition of trying to find the most fitting relationship between suicide and economy. One case which has been omitted is Sweden during the interwar period, 1919-1938. The interwar period in Sweden makes for an interesting case study due to several reasons. Sweden is experiencing rapid growth and urbanization but is also enduring two of its deepest recessions at the same time. The following essay aims to examine specifically this case with the use of three different theories on how the economy affects the suicide rate. The main method used is a multiple regression with descriptive data as a complement. The results of the essay show that the most probable relationship for this period is that of a countercyclical one. Although the results show there is a slight tendency for procyclical relationships as well. Therefore, a non-linear relationship might not be out of the question. To give a more definitive answer, one would most likely have to examine longer timeseries in the future.