@article{ref1,
title="Love, hate and murder: Commitment devices in violent relationships",
journal="Journal of public economics",
year="2009",
author="Aizer, Anna and Dal Bó, Pedro",
volume="93",
number="3-4",
pages="412-428",
abstract="Many violent relationships are characterized by a high degree of cyclicality: women who are the victims of domestic violence often leave and return multiple times. To explain this we develop a model of time inconsistent preferences in the context of domestic violence. This time inconsistency generates a demand for commitment. We present supporting evidence that women in violent relationships display time inconsistent preferences by examining their demand for commitment devices. We find that no-drop policies - which compel the prosecutor to continue with prosecution even if the victim expresses a desire to drop the charges - result in an increase in reporting. No-drop policies also result in a decrease in the number of men murdered by intimates suggesting that some women in violent relationships move away from an extreme type of commitment device when a less costly one is offered.<p />",
language="",
issn="0047-2727",
doi="10.1016/j.jpubeco.2008.09.011",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jpubeco.2008.09.011"
}