Thursday, July 22, 2004
Of Fresh Starts and the Stigma of Failure
Here's a macabre beginning.
Kitagawa engages in chilling conversation with indebted salarymen weighing the value of their continued existence vs. a life-insurance payout that would secure the financial future of their families. Says Kitagawa: "I try to tell them the children want their father, not the money."
This not so new BusinessWeek article focuses on the high suicide rates in Japan during the sluggish 90's. In a country where suicides were honorable ( The 'Complete Suicide Manual' was a best seller here), high suicide rates were only to be expected after the Asian finanical crisis. While the government tries to bring down these numbers, a potentially important instrument is the reforms of personal bankruptcy rules. The government has made the legal system faster and cheaper in an attempt to increase the numbers of 'effectively' bankrupt individuals to seek legal recourse. While culture remains an obstacle (to some extent the reforms are not attractive enough to overcome this), this has helped more people come forward.
Now shift to India, especially the south (kerala has one of the highest 'reported' suicide rates in the world) and west bengal, where personal bankruptcy rules are rigid and rarely used. Investigating potential reforms (along with changing attitudes on failures) might be useful, if not life saving.
Kitagawa engages in chilling conversation with indebted salarymen weighing the value of their continued existence vs. a life-insurance payout that would secure the financial future of their families. Says Kitagawa: "I try to tell them the children want their father, not the money."
This not so new BusinessWeek article focuses on the high suicide rates in Japan during the sluggish 90's. In a country where suicides were honorable ( The 'Complete Suicide Manual' was a best seller here), high suicide rates were only to be expected after the Asian finanical crisis. While the government tries to bring down these numbers, a potentially important instrument is the reforms of personal bankruptcy rules. The government has made the legal system faster and cheaper in an attempt to increase the numbers of 'effectively' bankrupt individuals to seek legal recourse. While culture remains an obstacle (to some extent the reforms are not attractive enough to overcome this), this has helped more people come forward.
Now shift to India, especially the south (kerala has one of the highest 'reported' suicide rates in the world) and west bengal, where personal bankruptcy rules are rigid and rarely used. Investigating potential reforms (along with changing attitudes on failures) might be useful, if not life saving.
