ATLANTA-(WEHT)- Researchers at Emory Univerity discovered that raising the minimum wage by a dollar reduces suicide rates by up to 6%.
They studied 25 years’ worth of data from all 50 states to draw the correlation. It corroborates a study from last year where researchers found that a 10% increase in the minimum wage reduced suicides by 3.6%
Both studies looked at Americans without college degrees.
Researchers have become interested in why deaths linked to alcoholism, drug overdoses, and suicide are increasing despite a robust economy.
Many studies are uncovering links between wages and smoking, low birth weights, and work absences.
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(This story was originally published on January 7, 2020)