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The Impact of Immigration on Native Suicides: An Empirical Evidence from Türkiye

Year 2023, Volume: 7 Issue: 3, 2010 - 2024, 18.09.2023
https://doi.org/10.25295/fsecon.1313427

Abstract

This study aims to present empirical evidence on the effect of immigration on native suicides from Türkiye, which has welcomed a massive influx from Syria since 2011. This study focuses on the period between 2009 and 2016 using a quasi-experimental design, which accounts for the self-selection of immigrants to provinces in Türkiye and eliminates a possible bias. An IV-2SLS estimation is conducted to find the causal effect of the Syrian influx on native suicides. The findings show that while the Syrian influx to Türkiye has not increased overall and male suicides, it has increased the crude female suicide rates. The increase is 1.31 percentage points in crude suicide rates when there is a one-percentage-point increase in the provincial refugee share. The results are consistent with the literature, which show evidence that the Syrian influx worsened women’s labor market conditions and promoted male polygamy in Türkiye. This study fulfills a gap in the literature lacking the effect of immigration on suicide by presenting evidence from a case in which the host country received more than 3.5 million Syrian refugees in a period of less than ten years. The study calls for stronger policy measures for Türkiye against female unemployment and polygamy in refugee-intensive provinces of the country. More generally, the study shows that host countries’ immigration policies should account for all characteristics of the areas in their refugee settlement process.

References

  • Aksu, K. (2018). War Hits the Women: Marriage as Syrian Women’s Coping Mechanism and Its Impact on Turkish Women. Electronic Turkish Studies, 13.
  • Anderson, S. & Genicot, G. (2015). Suicide and Property Rights in India. Journal of Development Economics, 114, 64-78.
  • Balkan, B. & Tumen, S. (2016). Immigration and Prices: Quasi-Experimental Evidence from Syrian Refugees in Turkey. Journal of Population Economics, 29, 657-686.
  • Barr, B., Taylor-Robinson, D., Scott-Samuel, A., McKee, M. & Stuckler, D. (2012). Suicides Associated with the 2008-10 Economic Recession in England: Time Trend Analysis. BMJ, 345, e5142.
  • Blakely, T. A., Collings C. S. & Atkinson J. (2003). Unemployment and Suicide: Evidence for a Causal Association?. Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, 57, 594-600.
  • Borjas, G. J. (2003). The Labor Demand Curve is Downward Sloping: Reexamining the Impact of Immigration on the Labor Market. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 118, 1335-1374.
  • Borjas, G. J. (2006). Native Internal Migration and the Labor Market Impact of Immigration. Journal of Human Resources, 41, 221-258.
  • Borjas, G. J., Freeman R. B. & Katz L. F. (1996). Searching for the Effect of Immigration on the Labor Market. The American Economic Review, 86, 246-251.
  • Çelik, I. A. & Vural, F. (2018). Suriyeli Mülteci Kadınların Kuma Dramı: Kilis İli Örneği. OPUS Uluslararası Toplum Araştırmaları Dergisi, 8, 341-382.
  • Ceritoglu, E., Gurcihan Yunculer H. B., Torun, H. & Tumen, S. (2017). The Impact of Syrian Refugees on Natives’ Labor Market Outcomes in Turkey: Evidence from a Quasi-Experimental Design. IZA Journal of Labor Policy, 6, 1-28.
  • Del Carpio, X. & Wagner, M. (2015). The Impact of Syrian Refugees on the Turkish Labor Market. Unpublished Manuscript, World Bank. Report No: WPS7402, 1.
  • Denney, J. T. (2010). Family and Household Formations and Suicide in the United States. Journal of Marriage and Family, 72, 202-213.
  • Denney, J. T., Rogers R. G., Krueger P. M. & Wadsworth, T. (2009). Adult Suicide Mortality in the United States: Marital Status, Family Size, Socioeconomic Status, and Differences by Sex. Social Science Quarterly, 90, 1167-1185.
  • Doğaner, A. (2021). Kültürel Bir Olgu Olarak Osmaniye’de Suriye’den Göç Edenlerle Evlilikler. Motif Akademi Halkbilimi Dergisi, 14, 24-38.
  • Erdoğan, M. M. (2014). Syrians in Turkey: Social Acceptance and Integration. HUGO Executive Summary and Report, November 2014.
  • Kubrin, C. E. & Wadsworth, T. (2009). Explaining Suicide Among Blacks and Whites: How Socioeconomic Factors and Gun Availability Affect Race-specific Suicide Rates. Social Science Quarterly, 90, 1203-1227.
  • Kuroki, M. (2014). The Effect of Sex Ratios on Suicide. Health Economics, 23, 1502-1510.
  • Milner, A., Page A. & LaMontagne, A. D. (2013). Long-term Unemployment and Suicide: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. PloS One, 8, e51333.
  • Mirsky, J., Kohn R., Dolberg P. & Levav, I. (2011). Suicidal Behavior Among Immigrants. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 46, 1133-1141.
  • Recker, N. L. & Moore, M. D. (2016). Durkheim, Social Capital, and Suicide Rates Across US Counties. Health Sociology Review, 25, 78-91.
  • Shaw, M., Dorling, D. & Smith, G. D. (2006). Poverty, Social Exclusion, and Minorities. M. Marmot & R. G. Wilkinson (Ed.), Social Determinants of Health. Oxford University Pres, Oxford.
  • Stevenson, B. & Wolfers, J. (2006). Bargaining in the Shadow of the Law: Divorce Laws and Family Distress. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 121, 267-288.
  • Tumen, S. (2019). Refugees and ‘Native Flight’ from Public to Private Schools. Economics Letters, 181, 154-159.
  • Wadsworth, T. & Kubrin, C. E. (2007). Hispanic Suicide in US Metropolitan Areas: Examining the Effects of Immigration, Assimilation, Affluence, and Disadvantage. American Journal of Sociology, 112, 1848-1885.
  • Wray, M., Colen, C. & Pescosolido, B. (2011). The Sociology of Suicide. Annual Review of Sociology, 37, 505-528.

Göçün Yerli İntiharlar Üzerindeki Etkisi: Türkiye’den Ampirik Bir Kanıt

Year 2023, Volume: 7 Issue: 3, 2010 - 2024, 18.09.2023
https://doi.org/10.25295/fsecon.1313427

Abstract

Bu çalışma, 2011'den bu yana Suriye'den büyük bir akını karşılayan Türkiye’de, göçün yerli intiharlar üzerindeki etkisine ilişkin ampirik kanıtlar sunmayı amaçlamaktadır. Çalışma, 2009 ve 2016 yılları arasındaki dönem için, göçmenlerin kendi kendine seçimini açıklayacak ve olası bir sapmayı ortadan kaldıracak olan yarı-deneysel tasarım yöntemini kullanmıştır. Suriyeli akının yerli intiharlar üzerindeki nedensel etkisini bulmak için IV-2SLS tahmini yapılmıştır. Bulgular, Türkiye'ye Suriyeli akının genel ve erkek intiharlarını artırmazken, kaba kadın intihar oranlarını artırdığını göstermektedir. İl mülteci payında yüzde bir puanlık artış olduğunda, kaba intihar oranlarında artış 1,31 puan olmaktadır. Sonuçlar, Suriyeli akının Türkiye'de kadınların işgücü piyasası koşullarını kötüleştirdiğini ve erkeklerin çok eşliliğini teşvik ettiğini gösteren yazındaki sonuçlarla tutarlıdır. Bu çalışma, on yıldan kısa bir süre içinde 3,5 milyondan fazla Suriyeli mülteci alan bir ülke vakasından elde edilen kanıtları sunarak, göçün intihar üzerindeki etkisinin araştırıldığı yazındaki bir boşluğu doldurmaktadır. Çalışma, ülkenin mülteci yoğun illerinde kadın işsizliğine ve çok eşliliğe karşı Türkiye için daha güçlü politika önlemleri çağrısında bulunmaktadır. Daha genel olarak, çalışma, ev sahibi ülkelerin göç politikalarının, mülteci yerleşim süreçlerinde bölgelerin tüm özelliklerini hesaba katması gerektiğini göstermektedir.

References

  • Aksu, K. (2018). War Hits the Women: Marriage as Syrian Women’s Coping Mechanism and Its Impact on Turkish Women. Electronic Turkish Studies, 13.
  • Anderson, S. & Genicot, G. (2015). Suicide and Property Rights in India. Journal of Development Economics, 114, 64-78.
  • Balkan, B. & Tumen, S. (2016). Immigration and Prices: Quasi-Experimental Evidence from Syrian Refugees in Turkey. Journal of Population Economics, 29, 657-686.
  • Barr, B., Taylor-Robinson, D., Scott-Samuel, A., McKee, M. & Stuckler, D. (2012). Suicides Associated with the 2008-10 Economic Recession in England: Time Trend Analysis. BMJ, 345, e5142.
  • Blakely, T. A., Collings C. S. & Atkinson J. (2003). Unemployment and Suicide: Evidence for a Causal Association?. Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, 57, 594-600.
  • Borjas, G. J. (2003). The Labor Demand Curve is Downward Sloping: Reexamining the Impact of Immigration on the Labor Market. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 118, 1335-1374.
  • Borjas, G. J. (2006). Native Internal Migration and the Labor Market Impact of Immigration. Journal of Human Resources, 41, 221-258.
  • Borjas, G. J., Freeman R. B. & Katz L. F. (1996). Searching for the Effect of Immigration on the Labor Market. The American Economic Review, 86, 246-251.
  • Çelik, I. A. & Vural, F. (2018). Suriyeli Mülteci Kadınların Kuma Dramı: Kilis İli Örneği. OPUS Uluslararası Toplum Araştırmaları Dergisi, 8, 341-382.
  • Ceritoglu, E., Gurcihan Yunculer H. B., Torun, H. & Tumen, S. (2017). The Impact of Syrian Refugees on Natives’ Labor Market Outcomes in Turkey: Evidence from a Quasi-Experimental Design. IZA Journal of Labor Policy, 6, 1-28.
  • Del Carpio, X. & Wagner, M. (2015). The Impact of Syrian Refugees on the Turkish Labor Market. Unpublished Manuscript, World Bank. Report No: WPS7402, 1.
  • Denney, J. T. (2010). Family and Household Formations and Suicide in the United States. Journal of Marriage and Family, 72, 202-213.
  • Denney, J. T., Rogers R. G., Krueger P. M. & Wadsworth, T. (2009). Adult Suicide Mortality in the United States: Marital Status, Family Size, Socioeconomic Status, and Differences by Sex. Social Science Quarterly, 90, 1167-1185.
  • Doğaner, A. (2021). Kültürel Bir Olgu Olarak Osmaniye’de Suriye’den Göç Edenlerle Evlilikler. Motif Akademi Halkbilimi Dergisi, 14, 24-38.
  • Erdoğan, M. M. (2014). Syrians in Turkey: Social Acceptance and Integration. HUGO Executive Summary and Report, November 2014.
  • Kubrin, C. E. & Wadsworth, T. (2009). Explaining Suicide Among Blacks and Whites: How Socioeconomic Factors and Gun Availability Affect Race-specific Suicide Rates. Social Science Quarterly, 90, 1203-1227.
  • Kuroki, M. (2014). The Effect of Sex Ratios on Suicide. Health Economics, 23, 1502-1510.
  • Milner, A., Page A. & LaMontagne, A. D. (2013). Long-term Unemployment and Suicide: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. PloS One, 8, e51333.
  • Mirsky, J., Kohn R., Dolberg P. & Levav, I. (2011). Suicidal Behavior Among Immigrants. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 46, 1133-1141.
  • Recker, N. L. & Moore, M. D. (2016). Durkheim, Social Capital, and Suicide Rates Across US Counties. Health Sociology Review, 25, 78-91.
  • Shaw, M., Dorling, D. & Smith, G. D. (2006). Poverty, Social Exclusion, and Minorities. M. Marmot & R. G. Wilkinson (Ed.), Social Determinants of Health. Oxford University Pres, Oxford.
  • Stevenson, B. & Wolfers, J. (2006). Bargaining in the Shadow of the Law: Divorce Laws and Family Distress. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 121, 267-288.
  • Tumen, S. (2019). Refugees and ‘Native Flight’ from Public to Private Schools. Economics Letters, 181, 154-159.
  • Wadsworth, T. & Kubrin, C. E. (2007). Hispanic Suicide in US Metropolitan Areas: Examining the Effects of Immigration, Assimilation, Affluence, and Disadvantage. American Journal of Sociology, 112, 1848-1885.
  • Wray, M., Colen, C. & Pescosolido, B. (2011). The Sociology of Suicide. Annual Review of Sociology, 37, 505-528.
There are 25 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Subjects Labor Economics
Journal Section Articles
Authors

Zeynep Elitaş 0000-0002-0715-8447

Publication Date September 18, 2023
Published in Issue Year 2023 Volume: 7 Issue: 3

Cite

APA Elitaş, Z. (2023). The Impact of Immigration on Native Suicides: An Empirical Evidence from Türkiye. Fiscaoeconomia, 7(3), 2010-2024. https://doi.org/10.25295/fsecon.1313427

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