Abstract
This study examines the association of unemployment variation with intimate partner violence using representative data from thirty one developing countries, through 2005 to 2016. It finds that a 1 percent increase in the male unemployment rate is associated with an increase in the incidence of physical violence against women by 0.50 percentage points, or 2.75 percent. This is consistent with financial and psychological stress generated by unemployment. Female unemployment rates have the opposite effect, a 1 percent decrease being associated with an increase in the probability of victimization of 0.52 percentage points, or 2.87 percent. That an improvement in women’s employment opportunities is associated with increased violence is consistent with male backlash. The study finds that this pattern of behaviours emerges entirely from countries in which women have more limited access to divorce than men.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | lhz030 |
| Pages (from-to) | 461–479 |
| Number of pages | 19 |
| Journal | The World Bank Economic Review |
| Volume | 35 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| Early online date | 7 Nov 2019 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 7 Nov 2019 |
Research Groups and Themes
- ECON Applied Economics
- ECON CEPS Welfare
Keywords
- intimate partner violence
- domestic violence
- abuse
- recession
- married women's labour force participation
- women's empowerment
- male backlash
Access to Document
- Full-text PDF (Author’s accepted manuscript)
This is the author accepted manuscript (AAM). The final published version (version of record) is available online via Oxford University Press at https://academic.oup.com/wber/advance-article/doi/10.1093/wber/lhz030/5614217?searchresult=1. Please refer to any applicable terms of use of the publisher.