The Heavy Economic Toll of Gender-based Violence: Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa

November 19, 2021

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Rasmané Ouedraogo, and David Stenzel. The Heavy Economic Toll of Gender-based Violence: Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa, (USA: International Monetary Fund, 2021) accessed December 22, 2024

Disclaimer: IMF Working Papers describe research in progress by the author(s) and are published to elicit comments and to encourage debate. The views expressed in IMF Working Papers are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of the IMF, its Executive Board, or IMF management.

Summary

The COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns have led to a rise in gender-based violence. In this paper, we explore the economic consequences of violence against women in sub-Saharan Africa using large demographic and health survey data collected pre-pandemic. Relying on a two-stage least square method to address endogeneity, we find that an increase in the share of women subject to violence by 1 percentage point can reduce economic activities (as proxied by nightlights) by up to 8 percent. This economic cost results from a significant drop in female employment. Our results also show that violence against women is more detrimental to economic development in countries without protective laws against domestic violence, in natural resource rich countries, in countries where women are deprived of decision-making power and during economic downturns. Beyond the moral imperative, the findings highlight the importance of combating violence against women from an economic standpoint, particularly by reinforcing laws against domestic violence and strengthening women’s decision-making power.

Subject: Econometric analysis, Education, Employment, Estimation techniques, Gender, Gender inequality, Labor, Women

Keywords: Consequences of violence, Economic development, Effects of decision-making power, Effects of law, Effects of natural resources, Employment, Estimation techniques, Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa, Gender inequality, Gender-based violence, Sub-Saharan Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, Women

Publication Details

Pages:

39
Volume:

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DOI:

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Issue:

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Series:

Working Paper No. 2021/277
Stock No:

WPIEA2021277
ISBN:

9781557754073
ISSN:

1018-5941

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