Abortion decriminalization and domestic violence : evidence from Mexico
Date
2019-06
Authors
Lauletta, Maximiliano
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Rossi, Martín A.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Universidad de San Andrés. Departamento de Economía
Abstract
Este trabajo estudia la conexión entre la legalización del aborto y la violencia doméstica de hombres a mujeres para el caso de México. Usando encuestas de victimización sobre violencia doméstica, utilizo el hecho de que sólo la Ciudad de México legalizó el aborto en 2007 para estimar un modelo de diferencias en diferencias con intensidad de tratamiento, usando la distancia a la Ciudad de México como intensidad de la exposición al aborto legal. Los resultados muestran que, después de la legalización, las mujeres casadas en las municipalidades más lejanas a la Ciudad de México reportan violencia doméstica más frecuentemente. En particular, un incremento en la distancia de 500km aumenta la probabilidad de experimentar violencia doméstica en 1.4 puntos porcentuales (aproximadamente 3.6% de la media de la variable dependiente). Los resultados son robustos a una variedad de contrastes de robustez y controles por otros eventos que podrían confundir el efecto de interés, como la aprobación de leyes de divorcio unila eral, leyes que limitan el acceso al aborto, y la presencia de actividades de narcotráfico.
This paper studies the connection between abortion legalization and male-to-female domestic violence for the case of Mexico. Using household surveys on domestic violence, I exploit the fact that Mexico City is the only district that legalized abortion in 2007 to estimate a difference-indifference with treatment intensities, taking the distance to Mexico City as a measure of exposure to abortion rights. Results show that, after legalization, married women in municipalities further away from Mexico City are significantly more likely to experience domestic violence. In particular, an increase in a standard deviation in distance (about 500km or 310 miles) increases the probability of experiencing domestic violence by 1.4 percentage points (about 3.6% relative to the mean of the dependent variable). Results hold in a variety of robustness checks and controlling for other events that could confound the effect, such as the passing of unilateral divorce laws, laws that limit abortion access, and the presence of drug cartel activity.
This paper studies the connection between abortion legalization and male-to-female domestic violence for the case of Mexico. Using household surveys on domestic violence, I exploit the fact that Mexico City is the only district that legalized abortion in 2007 to estimate a difference-indifference with treatment intensities, taking the distance to Mexico City as a measure of exposure to abortion rights. Results show that, after legalization, married women in municipalities further away from Mexico City are significantly more likely to experience domestic violence. In particular, an increase in a standard deviation in distance (about 500km or 310 miles) increases the probability of experiencing domestic violence by 1.4 percentage points (about 3.6% relative to the mean of the dependent variable). Results hold in a variety of robustness checks and controlling for other events that could confound the effect, such as the passing of unilateral divorce laws, laws that limit abortion access, and the presence of drug cartel activity.
Description
Fil: Lauletta, Maximiliano. Universidad de San Andrés. Departamento de Economía; Argentina.