Economics
Document Type
Article
Abstract
We combine individual-level data from the Demographic and Health Survey for India with high-resolution spatial data on air pollutants to investigate how exposure to high levels of PM2.5 influences spousal violence. For identification, we use atmospheric wind directions as an instrument for local pollution concentrations. We find that a 10 increase in PM2.5 levels has a statistically significant impact on intimate partner violence, raising the incidence of any violence by 4.7% over the sample mean. Heterogeneity analysis shows the effects are concentrated among rural households and poor households. We also find that air pollution in rural areas is associated with lower probability of both women and men working. This is consistent with the hypothesis that air pollution could affect intimate partner violence indirectly through reduced employment. © The Author(s) 2026.
Publication Title
Review of Economics of the Household
Publication Date
2026
ISSN
1569-5239
DOI
10.1007/s11150-026-09851-3
Keywords
India, intimate partner violence, particulate matter
Repository Citation
Kishore, Siddharth; Tsaneva, Magda; and Balakrishnan, Uttara, "Air Pollution and Intimate Partner Violence in India" (2026). Economics. 243.
https://commons.clarku.edu/faculty_economics/243
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Copyright Conditions
Kishore, S., Tsaneva, M., & Balakrishnan, U. (2026). Air Pollution and Intimate Partner Violence in India. Review of Economics of the Household, 1-39.
