The impact of temporary contracts on suicide rates

Abstract

Abstract Temporary contracts have a negative long-term impact on labour outcomes of low-skilled workers. Moreover, temporary contracts can present side effect on health outcomes. Using a restricted version of the Spanish Death Records, I estimate the impact of a liberalisation in the regulation of fixed-term contracts in 1984 on suicide rates. I exploit this natural experiment from a reform implemented in Spain using a cohort regression discontinuity design. I document a large long-term impact on suicides for high school first-level graduates, increasing the suicide mortality rates of the cohorts entering the labour market just after the reform by 26.6%. My results show the importance of identifying the contributing factors to suicide risk of vulnerable populations and have important policy implications for suicide prevention.