Doctoral Dissertation Research in Economics: The Determinants of Domestic Violence in Bangladash, A Randomized Control Trial

Project Outcomes Statement

Our research project aims to understand why low-income men use more violence than high-income men. Specifically, we examine the role played by the following two key factors in explaining this pattern: first, whether low-income men resort to violence to enhance their self-image or improve their reputation within their community; second, whether financial concerns play a role, specifically whether low-income men use violence to control behaviors that affect their financial gains from marriage or impose financial costs on them. We collect survey data and conduct a lab-in-the-field experiment to elicit gender norms and attitudes towards intimate partner violence (IPV). In our lab-in-the-field experiment, we present vignettes depicting a fictional married couple. The husband instructs his wife not to visit the neighbor's house, a potential social norm transgression. We elicit respondents' beliefs on how the husband would discipline his wife (perceived prevalence of violence) and society's expectations (perceived social acceptability of violence) in various situations. Building on data from the baseline data collection, we will design an education entertainment (edutainment) campaign and evaluate its effectiveness in changing attitudes towards IPV and/or reducing the incidence of IPV.

Preliminary results from the baseline data collection show that 44% of women reported experiencing at least one episode of IPV in the previous six months: 37% reported psychological violence, 20% physical, 18% sexual, and 12% financial violence. Depression rates are notable, with 20% of men and 18% of women reporting moderate to severe depression. Key findings that emerge from the data are: i) top male earners have better mental health; ii) women married to men with higher respectability scores and women with higher soft-character scores (scores obtained based on responses to five close-ended questions), are significantly less likely to report incidents of IPV in the past 6 months; iii) women who adhere to more conservative gender norms are less likely to report incidents of psychological violence in the past 6 months; iv) women who live in lower-wealth households and those who report witnessing IPV against their mothers and mothers-in-law are more likely to have experienced IPV in the past 6 months.

Initial findings from the lab-in-the-field experiment show that: i) women report higher levels of perceived prevalence and social acceptability of violence compared to men; ii) men believe that violence is more prevalent and socially acceptable when used to deter wives from transgressing social norms or when used due to loss of control; iii) men believe that violence is more socially acceptable when the transgression and the disciplining are visible to neighbors (public), compared to when they are private; iv) men with higher income report lower levels of perceived prevalence and social acceptability of violence.