Farmer Suicides in India: Levels and Trends across Major States, 1995-2011

Authors

Deepankar Basu, Department of Economics, University of MassachusettsFollow
Debarshi Das, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, GuwahatiFollow
Kartik Misra, Department of Economics, University of Massachusetts, AmherstFollow

Working Paper Number

2016-01

Publication Date

2016

Abstract

In the paper, we use data on farmer suicides from the National Crime Records Bureau and population data from the Censuses of 1991, 2001 and 2011 to estimate the suicide mortality rate (SMR) of farmers and non-farmers for 19 major states of India and for the country as a whole. We use movements in the SMR ratio ratio of farmer SMR and non-farmer SMR) to understand the level and trend of the problem of farmer suicides across states and over time. For the country as a whole, and for many individual states, the SMR ratio has increased over time. This suggests that the problem of farmer suicides has become more severe across large swathes of the country, and calls for immediate and well planned policy interventions.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.7275/7999315

Recommended Citation

Basu, Deepankar; Das, Debarshi; and Misra, Kartik, "Farmer Suicides in India: Levels and Trends across Major States, 1995-2011" (2016). Economics Department Working Paper Series. 200.
https://doi.org/10.7275/7999315