IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v238y2019ic13.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A conditional cash transfer and Women's empowerment: Does Bolsa Familia Influence intimate partner violence?

Author

Listed:
  • Litwin, Ashley
  • Perova, Elizaveta
  • Reynolds, Sarah Anne

Abstract

We apply mixed methods to explore how a conditional cash transfer (CCT) may influence intimate partner violence (IPV). Qualitative interviews with female beneficiaries of Bolsa Familia, Brazil's CCT program, and service providers suggest positive, negative, and null associations between CCTs and IPV are all plausible. These associations result from a combination of economic and psychological motivations. We also use quantitative methods to examine if the expansion of Bolsa Familia between 2004 and 2009 affects the female homicide rate and marital separations. Using municipal level data in a difference-in-differences analysis, we find null associations between Bolsa Familia and female homicides. When we examine the impact on marriages and separations, indicative of a change in the reservation utility of women within the household, we find no impact on marriages but Bolsa Familia is associated with an increase in separations, and, to a greater extent, separations of couples with children. These results suggest Bolsa Familia impacts women's agency within the family, but not to the extent that it reduces the most extreme form of IPV.

Suggested Citation

  • Litwin, Ashley & Perova, Elizaveta & Reynolds, Sarah Anne, 2019. "A conditional cash transfer and Women's empowerment: Does Bolsa Familia Influence intimate partner violence?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 238(C), pages 1-1.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:238:y:2019:i:c:13
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2019.112462
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953619304563
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.socscimed.2019.112462?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gustavo J. Bobonis, 2011. "The Impact of Conditional Cash Transfers on Marriage and Divorce," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 59(2), pages 281-312.
    2. Perova, Elizaveta & Reynolds, Sarah Anne, 2017. "Women's police stations and intimate partner violence: Evidence from Brazil," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 174(C), pages 188-196.
    3. Ana Maria Buller & Amber Peterman & Meghna Ranganathan & Alexandra Bleile & Melissa Hidrobo & Lori Heise, 2018. "A Mixed-Method Review of Cash Transfers and Intimate Partner Violence in Low- and Middle-Income Countries," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 33(2), pages 218-258.
    4. Letícia Bartholo, 2016. "Bolsa Família and women's autonomy: What do the qualitative studies tell us?," Policy Research Brief 57, International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth.
    5. Nava Ashraf & Natalie Bau & Corinne Low & Kathleen McGinn, 2018. "Negotiating a Better Future: How Interpersonal Skills Facilitate Inter-Generational Investment," Working Papers 2018-023, Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Working Group.
    6. Manser, Marilyn & Brown, Murray, 1980. "Marriage and Household Decision-Making: A Bargaining Analysis," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 21(1), pages 31-44, February.
    7. Anna Aizer, 2010. "The Gender Wage Gap and Domestic Violence," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 100(4), pages 1847-1859, September.
    8. Ashraf, Nava & Low, Corinne & McGinn, Kathleen, 2018. "Negotiating a Better Future: How Interpersonal Skills Facilitate Inter-Generational Investment," CEPR Discussion Papers 12939, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    9. Heath, Rachel, 2012. "Women's access to labor market opportunities, control of household resources, and domestic violence," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6149, The World Bank.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Camilo, Karen & Zuluaga, Blanca, 2022. "The effects of conditional cash transfers on schooling and child labor of nonbeneficiary siblings," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    2. Prachi Pundir & Ashrita Saran & Howard White & Ramya Subrahmanian & Jill Adona, 2020. "Interventions for reducing violence against children in low‐ and middle‐income countries: An evidence and gap map," Campbell Systematic Reviews, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 16(4), December.
    3. Arzu Kibris & Phillip Nelson, 2023. "Female income generation and intimate partner violence: Evidence from a representative survey in Turkey," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 35(6), pages 963-978, August.
    4. Ambler, Kate & Jones, Kelly M. & O’Sullivan, Michael, 2021. "Increasing Women's Empowerment: Implications for Family Welfare," IZA Discussion Papers 14861, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Shreya Biswas & Upasak Das, 2021. "Whats the worth of a promise? Evaluating the indirect effects of a program to reduce early marriage in India," Papers 2104.12215, arXiv.org.
    6. Barrington, Clare & Peterman, Amber & Akaligaung, Akalpa J. & Palermo, Tia & de Milliano, Marlous & Aborigo, Raymond A., 2022. "‘Poverty can break a home’: Exploring mechanisms linking cash plus programming and intimate partner violence in Ghana," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 292(C).
    7. Giannina Vaccaro & Tania Paredes, 2022. "COVID-19 and Gender Differences in the Labor Market: Evidence from the Peruvian Economy," Documentos de Trabajo / Working Papers 2022-515, Departamento de Economía - Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Sviatschi, Maria Micaela & Trako, Iva, 2024. "Gender violence, enforcement, and human capital: Evidence from women’s justice centers in Peru," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    2. Sun, Ang & Zhao, Yaohui, 2016. "Divorce, abortion, and the child sex ratio: The impact of divorce reform in China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 53-69.
    3. Sofia Amaral & Siddhartha Bandyopadhyay & Rudra Sensarma, 2015. "Public Work Programs and Gender-based Violence: The Case of NREGA in India," Discussion Papers 15-09, Department of Economics, University of Birmingham.
    4. Díaz, Juan-José & Saldarriaga, Victor, 2023. "A drop of love? Rainfall shocks and spousal abuse: Evidence from rural Peru," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    5. Bergolo, Marcelo & Galván, Estefanía, 2018. "Intra-household Behavioral Responses to Cash Transfer Programs. Evidence from a Regression Discontinuity Design," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 100-118.
    6. Caterina Muratori, 2021. "The Impact of Abortion Access on Violence Against Women," Economics Discussion Papers em-dp2021-03, Department of Economics, University of Reading.
    7. Pakrashi, Debayan & Saha, Sarani, 2020. "Intergenerational consequences of maternal domestic violence: Effect on nutritional status of children," GLO Discussion Paper Series 551, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    8. Inés Berniell & Dolores de la Mata & Matilde Pinto Machado, 2020. "The Impact of a Permanent Income Shock on the Situation of Women in the Household: The Case of a Pension Reform in Argentina," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 68(4), pages 1295-1343.
    9. Saloni Khurana & Kanika Mahajan, 2022. "Public Safety for Women: Is Regulation of Social Drinking Spaces Effective?," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 58(1), pages 164-182, January.
    10. Trinidad Beleche, 2019. "Domestic violence laws and suicide in Mexico," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 17(1), pages 229-248, March.
    11. Padilla-Romo, María & Peluffo, Cecilia & Viollaz, Mariana, 2022. "Parents' Effective Time Endowment and Divorce: Evidence from Extended School Days," IZA Discussion Papers 15304, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    12. Denti, Daria & Iammarino, Simona, 2022. "Coming Out of the Woods. Do local support services influence the propensity to report sexual violence?," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 193(C), pages 334-352.
    13. 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.
    14. Sofia Amaral, 2015. "Do Improved Property Rights Decrease Violence Against Women in India?," Discussion Papers 15-10, Department of Economics, University of Birmingham.
    15. Roman, Soraya & Aguiar-Palma, Marina & Machado, Cecilia, 2023. "A tale of two cities: Heterogeneous effects of COVID-19 quarantine on domestic violence in Brazil," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 331(C).
    16. Hidrobo, Melissa & Fernald, Lia, 2013. "Cash transfers and domestic violence," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 304-319.
    17. Cecilia Parada, 2018. "Income cash transfers and intrahousehold decision making," Documentos de Trabajo (working papers) 18-17, Instituto de Economía - IECON.
    18. Giulia La Mattina, 2014. "Civil Conflict, Sex Ratio and Intimate Partner Violence in Rwanda," HiCN Working Papers 175, Households in Conflict Network.
    19. Sofia Amaral & Sonia Bhalotra & Nishith Prakash, 2019. "Gender, Crime and Punishment: Evidence from Women Police Stations in India," Boston University - Department of Economics - The Institute for Economic Development Working Papers Series dp-309, Boston University - Department of Economics.
    20. Erica Field & Rohini Pande & Natalia Rigol & Simone Schaner & Charity Troyer Moore, 2021. "On Her Own Account: How Strengthening Women's Financial Control Impacts Labor Supply and Gender Norms," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 111(7), pages 2342-2375, July.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:238:y:2019:i:c:13. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/315/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.