Date of Graduation

Spring 5-19-2017

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in International and Development Economics (MSIDEC)

College/School

College of Arts and Sciences

Department/Program

Economics

First Advisor

Yaniv Stopnitzky

Second Advisor

Jesse Anttila-Hughes

Abstract

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a pervasive issue affecting 1 in 3 women worldwide. Despite the negative welfare impacts, it is still seen as acceptable in some parts of the world, even amongst women. This paper examines how elastic these accepting attitudes towards IPV are to changing economic conditions. Specifically, this paper focuses on changes in intra-household resources from negative shocks to male-sourced income. The setting and context takes place in coastal communities in Indonesia, where fishing is a main source ofincome generated primarily by men. This paper uses satellite-derived fishing conditions to measure how women's attitudes towards IPV change when the husband experiences an income shock. I find that when fishing conditions go from high to low, women's acceptance of IPV decreases significantly. This effect is driven by women who participate in the labor market, and especially amongst poorer households. These results suggest that as women's share of household income increases, the acceptance of IPV amongst women goes down. This implies that expanding income opportunities, and closing the gender wage gap, can lead to positive women's empowerment outcomes.

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