---
title: "Increasing Minimum Wage by $1 Linked to Drop in Suicide Rates"
description: "Researchers found that increasing the minimum wage by a single dollar is linked to a drop in suicide rates between 3.4 and 5.9 percent in the U.S."
date: "2020-01-09"
modified: "2020-01-09"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/increasing-minimum-wage-drop-suicide-rates"
categories:
  - "Health & Medicine"
  - "Studies"
tags:
  - "life expectancy"
  - "suicide"
---

# Increasing Minimum Wage by $1 Linked to Drop in Suicide Rates

![Researchers found that increasing the minimum wage by a single dollar is linked to a drop in suicide rates between 3.4 and 5.9 percent in the U.S.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/increasing-minimum-wage-drop-suicide-rates.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Victor Tangermann\</em\>*

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania found that increasing the minimum wage by a single dollar is linked to a drop in suicide rates of between 3.4 and 5.9 percent in the United States, [*Inverse* reports](<https://www.inverse.com/article/62189-raise-minimum-wage-health-benefits>).

Their goal was to prove that social welfare policies such as raising the minimum wage could have a positive effect on the health of a nation's population. The effect was most pronounced during periods when the nation experienced high levels of unemployment.

A [paper](<https://jech.bmj.com/content/early/2020/01/03/jech-2019-212981>) describing the research was published Tuesday in the journal *Epidemiology and Community Health*.

"Suicide is often associated with financial stressors such as job loss, debt or financial hardship, but less is known about how economic interventions such as minimum wage policies could ameliorate these risk factors," reads the introduction.

The researchers examined available data of people aged 18 to 64 spanning from 1990 to 2016 who had earned a high school education or less.

They also found richest 20 percent of Americans saw an increase in life expectancy over that same period, while the poorest 20 percent [saw a decrease](<https://futurism.com/neoscope/life-expectancy-american-men-keeps-falling>). The researchers suggest social policies lifting the bottom 20 percent could have a positive effect on life expectancy.

[Other](<https://www.nber.org/papers/w25787>) [studies](<https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2018.12.008>) have found the same link between raising the minimum wage and a drop in suicide rates, as *Inverse* points out, backing up the researchers' findings.

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)