Exploring the Nexus between Socioeconomic Factors and Suicide Rates: Evidence from Panel ARDL Analysis in ASEAN Nations

The study’s objective is to assess the socioeconomic factors’ influence on the suicide rate in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) nations from 2000 to 2019. Panel data was utilised to analyse both linear and non-linear associations between age-standardised total suicide rates and socioeconomic factors by using the panel Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) approach. The empirical findings reveal that the age-standardised total suicide rate is positively significant with the unemployment rate, female labour force participation rate and alcohol consumption per capita, while negatively significant with current health expenditure and fertility rate. Additionally, there is a significant U-shaped linkage between per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and the age-standardised total suicide rate, with the estimated turning point at about $65,150.00 United States Dollar (USD), after which higher GDP per capita is linked to a higher age-standardised total suicide rate in ASEAN countries. The findings of this study can serve as a guideline for ASEAN policymakers in making decisions and developing plans to prevent suicide in ASEAN countries through various policies and programmes.