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Unveiling Shadows: The Impact of Unemployment on Child Maltreatment

Author

Listed:
  • Brown, Dan

    (GiveWell)

  • De Cao, Elisabetta

    (University of Bologna)

Abstract

Child maltreatment is pervasive, often undetected, yet harmful. We investigate whether it is impacted by unemployment by leveraging unique administrative data including all reported cases of child abuse and neglect in the United States from 2004 to 2012. Using an industry shift-share instrument to identify county-level unemployment effects, we find a substantial rise in neglect. The likely channel is lower quality-time spent with children rather than decreased financial investments. Expenditures on children remain stable during recessions. Instead, higher local-area unemployment rate reduces parental childcare time, worsens mental health, and contributes to an increase in one-parent households.

Suggested Citation

  • Brown, Dan & De Cao, Elisabetta, 2024. "Unveiling Shadows: The Impact of Unemployment on Child Maltreatment," IZA Discussion Papers 16799, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16799
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    child abuse and neglect; unemployment rate; recession; Bartik; mental health;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I10 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - General
    • D10 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - General
    • J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • K42 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law

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