In an online Applied Development Economics (ADE) seminar hosted by the Lahore School of Economics on 14th July 2020, Dr. Sonia Bhalotra (Professor of Economics, University of Essex, UK) discussed findings from a study conducted by Dr. Bhalotra and her colleagues on the incidence of domestic violence in Brazil. One out of every three women in the world have been subjected to domestic abuse. Yet, in most discussions on economic loss and unemployment, the impact of job loss on vulnerable household members is ignored. By using large, administrative and nationally representative datasets, Dr. Bhalotra showed that mass layoffs in Brazil led to a sharp drop in labour earnings and a corresponding increase in domestic violence. Her talk highlighted relevant implications for policy today, when are faced with a global pandemic that will lead to an acute increase in unemployment in both developed and developing countries.
The seminar is part of a weekly series hosted by the Centre for Research in Economics and Business (CREB) at the Lahore School of Economics, in collaboration with the International Growth Centre (IGC) and Consortium for Development Policy Research (CDPR), held to bring interesting and important economic research being carried out around the world to Pakistan. A complete schedule of the seminar series is available on the Centre for Research in Economics and Business (CREB) website.
In the second webinar, Dr. Bhalotra discussed how male job loss led to a decline in labour income by 41% and increased domestic violence by 32%. Further, the relationship between male job loss and domestic violence is pervasive and persistent across age, education and income category. The effects of female job loss were even more dramatic – labour income decreased by 40%, while the chances of women being subjected to domestic abuse almost doubled.
Dr. Bhalotra explained that unemployment leads to increased domestic violence through two main channels: 1) increase in stress due to liquidity constraint in the household, and 2) increased opportunities for violence as the couple spends more time together. She then showed that unemployment insurance is not enough to mitigate domestic violence because even though the couple is provided a financial cushion for a few months, the second channel – spending time at home, is still active before a new job is found. She, therefore, recommended supplementing unemployment insurance with job training to reduce stress and increase incentives to go back to work for curbing the incidence of domestic violence.
The ADE seminar series is an open event, aired every Tuesday, at 4 00 pm. Please visit creb.org.pk for updates.
