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

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  • 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.

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  • 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
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    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.
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    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.
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    Cited by:

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    2. 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.
    3. 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).
    4. 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.
    5. 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.
    6. 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).
    7. 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).

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