Is There an Economic Argument for Suicide Prevention? A Response to Doessel and Williams

A recent article in Suicidology Online by Doessel and Williams presented an economic argument for apolicy of suicide prevention. This response raises several issues that Doessel and Williams fail to address: (1) thefact that suicides may result in economic savings for the society, (2) the finite resources of governments so thatgovernments have to decide in which issues to become involved, (3) the fact that most government policiesproduct benefits for some members of the society and costs for others, and (4) the role of governments versuscharities, NGOs and Quangos.