Unintended Consequences of Lockdowns: COVID-19 and the Shadow Pandemic / Saravana Ravindran, Manisha Shah.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Ravindran, Saravana.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Shah, Manisha.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w27562.

NBER working paper series no. w27562

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2020.

Summary:

Violence against women is a problem worldwide, with economic costs ranging from 1-4% of global GDP. Using variation in the intensity of government-mandated lock-downs in India, we show that domestic violence complaints increase 0.47 SD in districts with the strictest lockdown rules. We find similarly large increases in cyber-crime complaints. However, rape and sexual assault complaints decrease 0.4 SD in districts with the strictest lockdowns, consistent with decreased female mobility in public spaces, public transport, and workplaces. Longer-term analysis shows that in-creases in domestic violence complaints persist one year later, while other complaints related to rape, sexual assault, and cybercrimes return to pre-lockdown levels.

Notes:

Print version record

July 2020.