Abuse and work among poor women: Evidence from Washington State

Abstract

The link between abuse and five labor-market outcomes is analyzed for a large sample of poor women from Washington State. Women abused as adults earned at least 25% less than unabused women in outside employment. Separating earnings into components, women who experienced abuse as children or adults fared significantly worse than unabused women in terms of the probability of work, the average number of months worked per year, and the wage. Sexual abuse was associated with the worst outcomes. Abuse was also associated with worse self-employment outcomes, especially among women sexually abused as adults.

Citation

Smith, M.W. (2001), "Abuse and work among poor women: Evidence from Washington State", Polachek, S. (Ed.) Worker Wellbeing in a Changing Labor Market (Research in Labor Economics, Vol. 20), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Bingley, pp. 67-102. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0147-9121(01)20038-7