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NBER: Fw: Fw: suicide and education
Subject: Fw: Fw: suicide and education
From: Michael Grossman (mgrossman@gc.cuny.edu)
Date: Tue Aug 05 2003 - 08:33:06 EDT
Michael Grossman
National Bureau of Economic Research
365 Fifth Avenue, 5th Floor
New York, New York 10016-4309
212-817-7959 (phone)
212-817-1597 (fax)
mgrossman@gc.cuny.edu (e-mail)
http://web.gc.cuny.edu/economics/faculty/grossman.htm (home page)
----- Original Message -----
From: "Philip Cook" <pcook@duke.edu>
To: "Michael Grossman" <mgrossman@gc.cuny.edu>; "Health Economics"
<he@nber.org>
Sent: Tuesday, August 05, 2003 8:01 AM
Subject: Re: Fw: suicide and education
> Mike and others:
>
> Let me offer my 2 cents on the question of the "elite" nature of suicide.
>
> In our recent book, Gun Violence: The Real Costs (Oxford, 2000), Jens
> Ludwig and I tabulate some of the simple demographics of gun suicide
(which
> is to say, the large majority of all suicides) in the United States. We
> used the Vital Statistics mortality data and the National Mortality
> Followback Survey. In Appendix A, we report that for each of 3 age groups
> (18-29, 30-54, 55+), the male suicide rate is much higher for unmarried
> than married men, much higher for those who did not attend college than
for
> those who had at least some college, and much higher for those not
employed
> than those employed. The suicide rate for those with family income
> exceeding $50K is a small fraction of the suicide rate for those with
> family income less than $25K. The same patterns (at a lower level) obtain
> for women. So in the United States, at least, suicide is not an "elite"
> activity.
>
> The patterns cited above are to some extent the result of the fact that
> suicide is closely linked to mental illness and poor physical health, but
I
> doubt that that's the whole story. Higher income and education bring a
> sense of (relative) well being.
>
> Best wishes,
> Phil Cook
>
> --On Monday, August 04, 2003 7:18 PM -0400 Michael Grossman
> <mgrossman@gc.cuny.edu> wrote:
>
> >
> > Michael Grossman
> > National Bureau of Economic Research
> > 365 Fifth Avenue, 5th Floor
> > New York, New York 10016-4309
> > 212-817-7959 (phone)
> > 212-817-1597 (fax)
> > mgrossman@gc.cuny.edu (e-mail)
> > http://web.gc.cuny.edu/economics/faculty/grossman.htm (home page)
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Alec Gershberg" <gersh@newschool.edu>
> > To: <mgrossman@gc.cuny.edu>
> > Sent: Monday, August 04, 2003 4:27 PM
> > Subject: suicide and education
> >
> >
> >> mike, could you distribute this note to the health econ group from the
> >> nber meetings in cambridge.
> >>
> >> colleagues from the nber health econ mtgs:
> >>
> >> during the discussion of markowitz's paper, i raised the issue that
> >> perhaps suicide was an "elitist" activity. this comment drew a few
> >> chuckles, and it was stated that suicide rates fell with rising
> >> education.
> >>
> >> i had the opportunity to talk with one of the leading national
> >> psychiatric experts on suicide. he in fact was very surprised at the
> >> assertion about suicide rates falling as education rises.
> >>
> >> he said it has been well documented that suicide rates rise with
> >> intelligence, creativity, risk taking, and especially being bi-polar
> >> (which apparently increases with education level).
> >>
> >> he said one of the most cited studies is from england where they looked
> >> at students from cambridge and oxford, students from 7 unnamed
> >> university (a true ignominy!), and those who did not attend university.
> >> suicide rates fell as the elite status of the education declined.
> >> similar studies have been done in the u.s.
> >>
> >> anyway, i thought i would share this in the interest of knowledge, and
> >> wonder what cut of what data shows suicide falling as education rises.
> >> it seems that suicide is in fact an elitist activity after all.
> >>
> >> i enjoyed interacting with all of you.
> >>
> >> best,
> >>
> >> alec
> >>
> >>
> >> Alec Ian Gershberg
> >> Associate Professor
> >> Robert J. Milano Graduate School
> >> of Management & Urban Policy
> >> New School University
> >> 72 Fifth Avenue, 5th floor
> >> New York, NY 10011
> >>
> >> Ph: (212) 229.5311 x 1412
> >> Fax: (212) 229.5404
> >>
> >> gersh@newschool.edu
> >> http://www.newschool.edu/milano/alec/Alec.htm
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
>
>
> Please use my new email address: pcook@duke.edu
>
> Philip J. Cook
> ITT/Sanford Professor of Public Policy
> Duke University, Box 90245
> Durham, NC 27708
> V: 919/613-7360
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