Working Papers
Programs to enhance rural connectivity are often driven by the goal of promoting economic growth and improving access to markets and services. However, the potential social externalities, particularly those operating within households, remain underexplored. Using a regression discontinuity design, I show that access to rural roads reduces intimate partner violence against women. I find improved rural connectivity leads to a significant decline in the likelihood of both sexual and physical violence against women in connected villages by 6 and 5.9 percentage points, respectively. I find rural roads improve women’s mobility, educational attainment, financial autonomy, and intra-household agency, which strengthens women’s bargaining power within the household. At the same time, improved connectivity enhances men’s economic status by shifting towards more skilled occupations, increasing educational attainment and reducing sole-decision making. In this way, roads affect both genders through distinct but mutually reinforcing pathways, jointly contributing to a more equitable and less violent household environment. These findings do not provide support to a male backlash and are consistent with a transition toward a more cooperative household equilibrium.
Work in Progress