Austerity Sparks Suicides When Recession Hits: Cutting Research

Recessions and austerity are proving deadly.

In a book to be released this month, professors David Stuckler and Sanjay Basu say suicide rates in both the U.S. and the U.K. increased after the end of 2007, which marked the beginning of the recession in the U.S. They calculate there were 4,750 “excess” suicides during the slump in the U.S., compared with average rates before the recession. For the U.K., they estimate a 1,000-suicide rise.