"COVID-19 and Women’s Well-Being"
ADAN SILVERIO-MURILLO, School of Government, Tecnologico de Monterrey
Email: adan.sm@tec.mx
LAUREN HOEHN-VELASCO, Georgia State University – Andrew Young School of Policy Studies
Email: laurenhoehnvelasco@gmail.com
JOSE ROBERTO BALMORI DE LA MIYAR, University Anahuac Mexico, Business and Economics School
Email: jrb392@cornell.edu
ABEL RODRIGUEZ, Tecnologico de Monterrey
Email: A01595062@itesm.mx
Researchers have speculated that the economic consequences and social isolation caused by COVID-19 will harm mental health and household interactions. In this paper, we test this claim in the immediate aftermath of Mexico City’s COVID-19 stay-at-home order. We examine whether the order affected mental health, intimate partner violence (IPV), and household decisions using call-center data. Our empirical methodology uses an event-study design to track call-center volume by type of call. Our results show four main patterns. First, we show that IPV-related calls for psychological services reached a peak but then declined, while IPV requests for legal aid waned. Second, anxiety-related calls increased, but there was no effect on depression. Third, abortion-related calls decreased, with no corresponding impact on pregnancy call volume. Fourth, divorce calls asking for psychological aid reached a peak, but there is no observed effect on requests for divorce legal assistance.