Year: 2007
Type: report
Abstract: Many violent relationships are characterized by a high degree of cyclicality: women who are the victims of domestic violence often leave and return multiple times.To explain this we develop a model of time inconsistent preferences in the context of domestic violence.This time inconsistency generates a demand for commitment.We present supporting evidence that women in violent relationships display time inconsistent preferences by examining their demand for commitment devices.We find that "no-drop" policies --which compel the prosecutor to continue with prosecution even if the victim expresses a desire to drop the charges --result in an increase in reporting.No-drop policies also result in a decrease in the number of men murdered by intimates suggesting that some women in violent relationships move away from an extreme type of commitment device when a less costly one is offered.
DOI: 10.3386/w13492
Authors: Anna Aizer, Pedro Dal Bó
Institutions: National Bureau of Economic Research, Brown University
Language: English
Subfield: Health
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2029022701