Ben d’Exelle on Climate change, intimate partner violence and fertility

Ben d’Exelle presents at the WIDER Seminar Series on 18 September 2024.

Climate change, intimate partner violence and fertility

Abstract

Climate change increases the frequency of weather extremes. Combining DHS data and historical weather data from three continents, we look at the impact of local temperature and rainfall deviations from 10-year averages on the prevalence of intimate partner violence (IPV) and the desired fertility of men and women. We find that the likelihood of IPV increases with positive temperature shocks in India and Latin America, and with negative rainfall shocks in Sub-Saharan Africa. Women's desired fertility decreases in warmer years in all three continents.

About the presenter

Ben d'Exelle's research aims to improve understanding of individual behavior and decision-making, and how these are influenced by social interaction within households and communities. He applies this approach to various domains, such as health, development, labor, gender, environment, and agriculture. Most of his research is conducted in low- and middle-income countries, driven by the need to develop more effective policies to tackle the most urgent problems in these regions. He extensively utilizes experiments, including randomized control trials and lab experiments conducted online, in computer labs, or in the field. He has completed projects in Uganda, Tanzania, Burkina Faso, Nicaragua, Colombia, and Peru, with new research underway in Bangladesh, Ivory Coast, and the Dominican Republic.

He is a member of the following research groups or institutes at UEA: Center for Behavioural and Experimental Social Sciences (CBESS), Behavioural Economics, Behavioural and Experimental Development Economics (BEDERG), Environment, Resources and Conflict, CSERGE, the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, and the Norwich Institute for Sustainable Development. Additionally, he is an IZA fellow and a full member of the European Development Research Network (EUDN).

His teaching responsibilities include microeconomics, econometrics, and applied methods in impact evaluation, alongside directing the MSc Impact Evaluation for International Development program.

In 2020, he won the ESRC impact prize under the category 'Business and Enterprise Impact'. Click here for a video on his impact work.

WIDER Seminar Series

The WIDER Seminar Series showcases the latest research on key topics in development economics. It provides a forum for senior and early-career researchers, both in-house and external, to present recent and ongoing work related to UNU-WIDER’s current work programme.

In addition to providing a forum for both academic debate and training, the series presents an opportunity for policymakers and others interested in development to learn about the latest research methods and findings.

The WIDER Seminar Series events take place on Wednesdays. All those interested are invited to register and attend via Zoom or in person.