Theoretical Underpinnings and Meta-analysis of the Effects of Cash Transfers on Intimate Partner Violence in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

The number of studies examining the effects of cash transfer (CT) programs on Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) has rapidly grown over the last decade. Depending on how violence is modelled, CTs could either increase, decrease or have an ambiguous effect on violence. This paper provides a survey of the theoretical and quantitative empirical literature on the effects of CTs on IPV. We place the existing theories in the context of an overarching model of household bargaining. We then review the empirical evidence for low- and middle-income countries. The bulk of the empirical evidence suggests that CTs either are associated with a decrease in IPV or no effect on average. Some studies however report increases in IPV for some subgroups, for example, for women with low levels of education whose husbands have even lower levels of education. A meta-analysis finds significant negative impacts on physical and emotional violence and controlling behaviours – consistent with household resource and stress theory, possibly in conjunction with, but dominating, theories of status inconsistency and instrumental violence.