Intimate partner violence and women's economic preferences

One in three women globally experiences intimate partner violence (IPV), yet little is known about how such trauma affects economic decision-making. We provide causal evidence that IPV influences women's time preferences - a key parameter in models of savings, investment, and labor supply. We combin...

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Autores principales: Anderberg, Dan, Cassidy, Rachel, Dam, Anaya, Hidrobo, Melissa, Leight, Jessica, Morsink, Karlijn
Formato: Preprint
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: arXivLabs 2025
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/175776
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author Anderberg, Dan
Cassidy, Rachel
Dam, Anaya
Hidrobo, Melissa
Leight, Jessica
Morsink, Karlijn
author_browse Anderberg, Dan
Cassidy, Rachel
Dam, Anaya
Hidrobo, Melissa
Leight, Jessica
Morsink, Karlijn
author_facet Anderberg, Dan
Cassidy, Rachel
Dam, Anaya
Hidrobo, Melissa
Leight, Jessica
Morsink, Karlijn
author_sort Anderberg, Dan
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description One in three women globally experiences intimate partner violence (IPV), yet little is known about how such trauma affects economic decision-making. We provide causal evidence that IPV influences women's time preferences - a key parameter in models of savings, investment, and labor supply. We combine two empirical strategies using four distinct datasets. First, in two randomized recall experiments in Ethiopia, we randomly assigned women to recall specific acts of abuse before eliciting their intertemporal choices. Women with IPV experiences prompted to recall IPV display significantly greater impatience than otherwise similar women who are not prompted. Second, we exploit exogenous reductions in IPV generated by two randomized interventions - one involving cash transfers, the other psychotherapy - and use treatment assignment as an instrument for IPV exposure. Women who experience reduced IPV as a result of treatment exhibit more patient time preferences. Together, these results provide consistent, novel causal evidence that exposure to IPV induces individuals to discount the future more heavily. This evidence suggests a psychological channel through which violence can perpetuate economic disadvantage and constrain women's ability to take actions - such as saving, investing, or exiting abusive relationships - that require planning over time.
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spelling CGSpace1757762025-12-08T09:54:28Z Intimate partner violence and women's economic preferences Anderberg, Dan Cassidy, Rachel Dam, Anaya Hidrobo, Melissa Leight, Jessica Morsink, Karlijn decision making domestic violence economics women gender One in three women globally experiences intimate partner violence (IPV), yet little is known about how such trauma affects economic decision-making. We provide causal evidence that IPV influences women's time preferences - a key parameter in models of savings, investment, and labor supply. We combine two empirical strategies using four distinct datasets. First, in two randomized recall experiments in Ethiopia, we randomly assigned women to recall specific acts of abuse before eliciting their intertemporal choices. Women with IPV experiences prompted to recall IPV display significantly greater impatience than otherwise similar women who are not prompted. Second, we exploit exogenous reductions in IPV generated by two randomized interventions - one involving cash transfers, the other psychotherapy - and use treatment assignment as an instrument for IPV exposure. Women who experience reduced IPV as a result of treatment exhibit more patient time preferences. Together, these results provide consistent, novel causal evidence that exposure to IPV induces individuals to discount the future more heavily. This evidence suggests a psychological channel through which violence can perpetuate economic disadvantage and constrain women's ability to take actions - such as saving, investing, or exiting abusive relationships - that require planning over time. 2025-07-15 2025-07-23T14:28:52Z 2025-07-23T14:28:52Z Preprint https://hdl.handle.net/10568/175776 en Open Access arXivLabs Anderberg, Dan; Cassidy, Rachel; Dam, Anaya; Hidrobo, Melissa; Leight, Jessica; and Morsink, Karlijn. 2025. Intimate partner violence and women's economic preferences. Preprint available online July 15, 2025. https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2507.10416
spellingShingle decision making
domestic violence
economics
women
gender
Anderberg, Dan
Cassidy, Rachel
Dam, Anaya
Hidrobo, Melissa
Leight, Jessica
Morsink, Karlijn
Intimate partner violence and women's economic preferences
title Intimate partner violence and women's economic preferences
title_full Intimate partner violence and women's economic preferences
title_fullStr Intimate partner violence and women's economic preferences
title_full_unstemmed Intimate partner violence and women's economic preferences
title_short Intimate partner violence and women's economic preferences
title_sort intimate partner violence and women s economic preferences
topic decision making
domestic violence
economics
women
gender
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/175776
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AT cassidyrachel intimatepartnerviolenceandwomenseconomicpreferences
AT damanaya intimatepartnerviolenceandwomenseconomicpreferences
AT hidrobomelissa intimatepartnerviolenceandwomenseconomicpreferences
AT leightjessica intimatepartnerviolenceandwomenseconomicpreferences
AT morsinkkarlijn intimatepartnerviolenceandwomenseconomicpreferences