The Silenced Women: Can Public Stimulate Reporting of Violence Against Women? (Under Review)
Research Papers
Although violence against women (VAW) is widely prevalent and has myriad adverse effects, it is considerably under-reported. This paper examines whether public activism can stimulate disclosure of socially sensitive crimes such as rape and sexual assault. I investigate this question in a quasi-experimental setting arising out of an infamous gang-rape incident that took place in Delhi (India) on a moving bus in December 2012. The incident sparked widespread protests of an unprecedented magnitude, marking a nationwide ‘social shock’. Utilizing a difference-in-difference (DiD) strategy and exploiting regional variation in exposure to the shock, I find that the shock led to a sharp increase in reported VAW (apprrox. 27%), but no change in gender-neutral crimes such as murder, riots and robbery. Additional evidence suggests that the increase in reported VAW can be attributed to a rise in reporting rather than actual incidence. Using new incident-level micro-data - a repository of over 300,000 registered complaints that I compiled - I provide first evidence on retrospective reporting, and find a measurable decline in reporting-bias associated with cases of VAW, post-shock. These findings shed light on the role of social movements in moving the needle on disclosure norms. Further, improved reporting of VAW can in turn mitigate occurrence and its associated costs.
First Draft: January 2019. Latest Draft: World Bank PRWP (March 2021)
Coverage: Times of India, ASE Podcast, Policy Implications Podcast
Supported by: Sigur Center for Asian Studies, International Center for Research on Women, Association for Social Economics
Presented at: Economics of Crime Seminar (2021), ICRW (2020), SEA (2020), PACDEV (2020), MWIEDC (2020), DEVPEC (2019), WADES (2019), Gender Innovation Lab seminar series (2019), Sigur Summer Research Fellows’ Roundtable (2019)
Long-Term Impacts of Short Exposure to Conditional Cash Transfers in Adolescence: Evidence from the Philippines (with Elizaveta Perova and Ervin Dervisevic; R&R Economic Development and Cultural Change)
This paper evaluates long-term impacts of the national conditional cash transfer program in the Philippines on beneficiaries who were exposed to it during a relatively short but critical period of their life, i.e., while transitioning from adolescence to adulthood. We experimentally estimate impacts of Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program on men and women who were enrolled in the program for up to 1.5 years when they were aged between 12.5 and 14 and are currently in their early twenties. We find evidence of impacts on marriage and fertility for women (but not for men): participation in the program is associated with delay in marriage and in the first birth of approximately one year and six months, respectively. However, we do not find impacts on educational, labor market outcomes and proxies of economic welfare. Furthering considering our effects are ITT saying “participation” in the program seems inaccurate.
Latest Draft: World Bank PRWP (April 2021).
Presented at: NEUDC (2020)
Conditional Cash Transfers and Violence Against Women – Does the Type of Violence Matter? (with Elizaveta Perova and Ervin Dervisevic; Social Science and Medicine, September 2023)
While there is scholarly consensus that cash transfer programs can reduce intimate partner violence (IPV), there is little evidence on the effect on other forms of violence against women (VAW). This study uses a regression discontinuity design to examine the effects of a conditional cash transfer (CCT) program in the Philippines on three types of VAW: (i) IPV, (ii) domestic violence excluding IPV (such as own and husband's relatives), and (iii) violence outside home. Although the study finds no significant impacts on IPV or violence outside of home, it reports a measurable decline in emotional domestic violence. Suggestive evidence indicates that the impact could be driven by an increase in household wellbeing, and women’s empowerment, bargaining power, and social capital. This evidence confirms the potential of CCT programs to mitigate VAW beyond IPV, such as domestic violence. At the same time, the study suggests that CCT programs’ design and context in which they operate may affect their ability to mitigate IPV.
Presented at SEA (2021), NEUDC (2021), APPAM (2022)
Work in Progress
Shocks, Women and Marriage Markets (with Aleksandr Michuda and Nivedhitha Subramanian)
Can Guilt Change Police Attitudes Towards Gender-Based Violence? Evidence from India (with Sofia Amaral, Kimberly Chaney, Victoria Endl-Geyer, Nishith Prakash)
Is the Legal Stick Enough? Unintended Consequences of Polygamy Ban in Benin (with Shatanjaya Dasgupta)
Social Networks and Women’s Economic Empowerment: Evidence from Nigeria (with Nono Ayivi-Guedehoussou)