Women’s type of property ownership and domestic violence: a theoretical note

We examine the impact of women’s ownership of property on domestic violence. Based on the “Work-In-Household” framework developed in Grossbard ( 1976 , 2015 , 2020 ) and Grossbard-Shechtman ( 1984 ), we argue that domestic violence could be related to whether women own their own property or couples own joint property. In particular, private ownership of property by a married woman may reduce her supply of household services to her husband in the absence of domestic violence. To compel a higher supply of household services, the husband might use violence and coercion. In contrast, joint property ownership may act as a type of compensation inducing women to voluntarily supply more household production labor, thereby lowering the chances that men use violence to force women to supply such labor.