Farmer Suicides in India and Australia: Differences and Surprising Similarities

24 Pages Posted: 28 Sep 2006

See all articles by Siddhartha Mitra

Siddhartha Mitra

Jadavpur University - Department of Economics

Date Written: September 28, 2006

Abstract

Australia and India are two physically large countries but the similarity seemingly ends there. While Australia is affluent and predominantly urban with a low overall population density and practices land and capital intensive agriculture India exhibits diametrically opposite characteristics. It is therefore quite strange to find that both India and Australia have comparable farmer suicide rates which are high by international standards. This common feature can be attributed to water scarcity which is natural in the case of Australia and mostly the outcome of political lobbying in the Indian case. Certain sociological developments arising out of technological change also play a key role in the Australian case.

Keywords: Suicide, Agriculture, Irrigation, Drought

JEL Classification: A10, B40, 010

Suggested Citation

Mitra, Siddhartha, Farmer Suicides in India and Australia: Differences and Surprising Similarities (September 28, 2006). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=933268 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.933268

Siddhartha Mitra (Contact Author)

Jadavpur University - Department of Economics ( email )

Kolkata, 700032
India

HOME PAGE: http://www.jaduniv.edu.in/profile.php?uid=977

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