Working Paper: NBER ID: w13494
Authors: Anna Aizer
Abstract: Three quarters of all violence against women is perpetrated by domestic partners. I study both the economic causes and consequences of domestic violence. I find that decreases in the male-female wage gap reduce violence against women, consistent with a household bargaining model. The relationship between the wage gap and violence suggests that reductions in violence may provide an alternative explanation for the well-established finding that child health improves when mothers control a greater share of the household resources. Using instrumental variable and propsensity score techniques to control for selection into violent relationships, I find that violence against pregnant women negatively affects the health of their children at birth. This work sheds new light on the health production process as well as observed income gradients in health and suggests that in addition to addressing concerns of equity, pay parity can also improve the health of American women and children via reductions in violence.
Keywords: domestic violence; women's wages; child health; household bargaining; public health
JEL Codes: I12; J12; J13; J16
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| increase in a woman's relative income (J31) | increase in her bargaining power (C79) |
| increase in her bargaining power (C79) | reduction in violence against women (J12) |
| decreases in the male-female wage gap (J79) | reduction in violence against women (J12) |
| improvements in local labor market conditions for women (J49) | declines in violence against women (J12) |
| violence against pregnant women (J12) | negatively affects health of their children at birth (J13) |
| reduction in violence against women (J12) | improved birth outcomes (J13) |