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The effect of violent crime on female decision-making within the household: evidence from the Mexican war on drugs

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Listed:
  • Magda Tsaneva

    (Clark University)

  • Marc Rockmore

    (Clark University)

  • Zahra Albohmood

    (Clark University)

Abstract

This paper uses the surge in drug-related violence in Mexico to study the effect of violent crime on married women’s decision-making. Using a fixed-effects regression model, we find that increased violence is associated with a reduction in women’s participation in household decision-making. Yet, the effect is small—at the average, it leads to women making 0.11 fewer decisions, a decrease of 1.2% relative to the baseline value. Further, the effect is short-lived—the effect of past homicides is not significant when controlling for current levels of violent crime. We find that violence is associated with higher probability of working and higher number of working hours for women, while men experience a reduction in their probability of working. This implies that our results are likely not due to changing norms or women losing economic power but rather women spending less time at home while men take on some of the household responsibilities.

Suggested Citation

  • Magda Tsaneva & Marc Rockmore & Zahra Albohmood, 2019. "The effect of violent crime on female decision-making within the household: evidence from the Mexican war on drugs," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 17(2), pages 615-646, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:reveho:v:17:y:2019:i:2:d:10.1007_s11150-018-9418-0
    DOI: 10.1007/s11150-018-9418-0
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    Cited by:

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    2. Gustavo J Bobonis & Roberto Castro & Juan S Morales, 2020. "Legal Reforms, Conditional Cash Transfers, and Intimate Partner Violence: Evidence from Mexico," Working Papers tecipa-678, University of Toronto, Department of Economics.
    3. Alexander Henke & Lin-chi Hsu, 2020. "The gender wage gap, weather, and intimate partner violence," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 18(2), pages 413-429, June.
    4. Kien Le & My Nguyen, 2023. "Armed conflicts and women's authority in intra‐household decision making," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 70(3), pages 249-267, July.
    5. Au Yong Lyn, Audrey, 2020. "Male employment and female intra-household decision-making: a Mexican gold mining case study," Munich Reprints in Economics 75733, University of Munich, Department of Economics.

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