Work

Poverty and parental discipline

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Across and within countries, there are large differences in how parents discipline their children, and frequently, poverty is associated with higher levels of physical punishment. We leverage the roll-out of a conditional cash transfer program in Peru to test whether its introduction changes parental discipline practices. We find that in districts that begin to receive the program, the average level of reported physical punishment by mothers and fathers among the poor declines by at least 2.7 percentage points (11%) driven by reductions in slapping. Our findings suggest that program participation may have additional second-order benefits through the reduction of harsh physical forms of discipline practices.

Source: Journal of Development Economics

DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2025.103694

Authors: Mo Alloush, Emily Conover, Susan Godlonton

Institutions: Colorado State University, Hamilton College, Williams College

Language: English

Topic: Poverty, Education, and Child Welfare

Subfield: Safety Research

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: No poverty, Peace, justice, and strong institutions, Reduced inequalities, Good health and well-being

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $4,590