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Political economy of suicide: financial reforms, credit crunches and farmer suicides in India

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  • Anoop Sadanandan

    (Syracuse University, USA)

Abstract

Over 250,000 farmers have committed suicide in India since the mid-1990s. Studies – both case studies of states and at the individual-level - attribute these deaths to credit crunches in the agrarian sector and increased debt burden among farmers. Most of the farm suicides have, however, taken place in five of India’s 28 states, suggesting that adverse financial circumstances affected farmers only in some states. Why did mounting debt and credit crunches affect farmers only in some states? This paper offers an answer by relating farm suicides to the financial reforms the country undertook since the 1990s. Using an instrumental variables approach, it shows how increased competition in the banking sector diverted lending away from agriculture to create dire economic conditions that facilitated farm suicides in some Indian states.

Suggested Citation

  • Anoop Sadanandan, 2014. "Political economy of suicide: financial reforms, credit crunches and farmer suicides in India," Journal of Developing Areas, Tennessee State University, College of Business, vol. 48(4), pages 287-307, October-D.
    • Handle: RePEc:jda:journl:vol.48:year:2014:issue4:pp:287-307
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    Cited by:

    1. Baccar, Mariem & Raynal, Hélène & Sekhar, Muddu & Bergez, Jacques-Eric & Willaume, Magali & Casel, Pierre & Giriraj, P. & Murthy, Sanjeeva & Ruiz, Laurent, 2023. "Dynamics of crop category choices reveal strategies and tactics used by smallholder farmers in India to cope with unreliable water availability," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 211(C).
    2. Sowmya Dhanaraj & Vidya Mahambare & Pragati, 2021. "Are India’s farm debt waivers a political tool that impacts government finances?," Working Papers 2021-211, Madras School of Economics,Chennai,India.
    3. Sthanu R Nair, 2021. "Agrarian suicides in India: Myth and reality," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 39(1), pages 3-21, January.
    4. H. M. Vinaya Kumar & N. B. Chauhan & D. D. Patel & J. B. Patel, 2019. "Predictive factors to avoid farming as a livelihood," Journal of Economic Structures, Springer;Pan-Pacific Association of Input-Output Studies (PAPAIOS), vol. 8(1), pages 1-18, December.
    5. Yashobanta Parida & Devi Prasad Dash & Parul Bhardwaj & Joyita Roy Chowdhury, 2018. "Effects of Drought and Flood on Farmer Suicides in Indian States: An Empirical Analysis," Economics of Disasters and Climate Change, Springer, vol. 2(2), pages 159-180, July.
    6. Sonal Barve & K.S. Kavi Kumar & Brinda Viswanathan, 2019. "Weather Shocks, Agricultural Productivity and Farmer Suicides in India," Working Papers 2019-185, Madras School of Economics,Chennai,India.
    7. Wu, Qi & Merel, Pierre & Sexton, Richard J., 2022. "Economic and Climate Determinants of Farmer Suicide in the United States," 2022 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Anaheim, California 322342, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    8. Burakov, D., 2017. "Do Sunspots Matter for Cycles in Agricultural Lending: a VEC Approach to Russian Wheat Market," AGRIS on-line Papers in Economics and Informatics, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Faculty of Economics and Management, vol. 9(1), March.
    9. Harald Strotmann & Jürgen Volkert & Melinda Schmidt, 2019. "Multinational companies: can they foster well-being in the eyes of the poor? Results from an empirical case study," International Journal of Corporate Social Responsibility, Springer, vol. 4(1), pages 1-14, December.
    10. Hossain, Md Mahbub & Purohit, Neetu & Sharma, Rachit, 2020. "Suicide of a farmer amid COVID-19 in India: Perspectives on social determinants of suicidal behavior and prevention strategies," SocArXiv ekam3, Center for Open Science.
    11. Basu, Deepankar & Das, Debarshi & Misra, Kartik, 2016. "Farmer Suicides in India: Levels and Trends across Major States, 1995-2011," UMASS Amherst Economics Working Papers 2016-01, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Department of Economics.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    India; Economic Development; Agriculture; Farmer Suicides; Financial Liberalization; Bank Competition;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O11 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Macroeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • O13 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Agriculture; Natural Resources; Environment; Other Primary Products
    • O16 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Financial Markets; Saving and Capital Investment; Corporate Finance and Governance

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