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Economic Conditions and Child Abuse

Author

Listed:
  • Lindo, Jason M.

    (Georgia Institute of Technology)

  • Schaller, Jessamyn

    (Claremont McKenna College)

  • Hansen, Benjamin

    (University of Oregon)

Abstract

Although a huge literature spanning several disciplines documents an association between poverty and child abuse, researchers have not found persuasive evidence that economic downturns increase abuse, despite their impacts on family income. In this paper, we address this seeming contradiction. Using county-level child abuse data spanning 1996 to 2009 from the California Department of Justice, we estimate the extent to which a county's reported abuse rate diverges from its trend when its economic conditions diverge from trend, controlling for statewide annual shocks. The results of this analysis indicate that overall measures of economic conditions are not strongly related to rates of abuse. However, focusing on overall measures of economic conditions masks strong opposing effects of economic conditions facing males and females: male layoffs increase rates of abuse whereas female layoffs reduce rates of abuse. These results are consistent with a theoretical framework that builds on family-time-use models and emphasizes differential risks of abuse associated with a child's time spent with different caregivers.

Suggested Citation

  • Lindo, Jason M. & Schaller, Jessamyn & Hansen, Benjamin, 2013. "Economic Conditions and Child Abuse," IZA Discussion Papers 7355, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp7355
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Raissian, Kerri M. & Bullinger, Lindsey Rose, 2017. "Money matters: Does the minimum wage affect child maltreatment rates?," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 60-70.
    2. Alvaro Morales & Prakarsh Singh, 2014. "The Effect of Civil Conflict on Child Abuse: Evidence from Peru," HiCN Working Papers 187, Households in Conflict Network.
    3. Hiilamo, Aapo & Hiilamo, Heikki & Ristikari, Tiina & Virtanen, Petri, 2021. "Impact of the Great Recession on mental health, substance use and violence in families with children: A systematic review of the evidence," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    4. Marianne Page & Jessamyn Schaller & David Simon, 2019. "The Effects of Aggregate and Gender-Specific Labor Demand Shocks on Child Health," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 54(1), pages 37-78.
    5. Shaari, Mohd Shahidan & Harun, Nor Hidayah & Hussain, Nor Ermawati, 2019. "Female Labour Force and Child Abuse in Malaysia Using ARDL Approach," Jurnal Ekonomi Malaysia, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, vol. 53(1), pages 27-33.
    6. Schneider, William & Waldfogel, Jane & Brooks-Gunn, Jeanne, 2017. "The Great Recession and risk for child abuse and neglect," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 71-81.
    7. Alvaro Morales & Prakarsh Singh, 2016. "“Face the bullet, spare the rod?” Evidence from the aftermath of the Shining Path Insurgency," HiCN Working Papers 191 updated, Households in Conflict Network.
    8. Maclean, Johanna Catherine, 2013. "The health effects of leaving school in a bad economy," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(5), pages 951-964.
    9. Cherry, Robert & Wang, Chun, 2016. "The link between male employment and child maltreatment in the U.S., 2000–2012," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 117-122.
    10. Lisa A. Gennetian & Christopher Rodrigues, 2021. "Mothers’ and Fathers’ Time Spent with Children in the U.S.: Variations by Race/Ethnicity Within Income from 2003 to 2013," Journal of Economics, Race, and Policy, Springer, vol. 4(1), pages 34-46, March.
    11. Prakarsh Singh & Alvaro Morales, 2015. "The Effect of Civil Conflict on Child Abuse: Evidence from Peru," NCID Working Papers 04/2015, Navarra Center for International Development, University of Navarra.
    12. Kahn, Nicholas E., 2019. "Male-female disparities in the relationship between child maltreatment and labor market outcomes: A case study of Texas," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 384-392.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    child abuse; recessions; job loss; time use; gender; childcare;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I10 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - General
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J63 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Turnover; Vacancies; Layoffs
    • K42 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law

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