CARE Seminar: Abi Adams, Northwestern

Date and Time
Location
North Hall 2111
Hosted By
Mitchell Hoffman

Speaker

Abi Adams, Northwestern

Title

“The Economic Impact of Rape” 

Abstract

We estimate the economic impacts of rape using the population of Finnish police reports and hospital admissions for sexual assault. Victims experience a 11% decline in employment, a  12% drop in earnings, and a 27% increase in antidepressant usage compared to otherwise observationally identical women five years post-assault. Rape also causes significant spillover effects to victims' social networks: female schoolmates suffer worsened mental health after a peer is assaulted, and parents experience significant mental health deterioration.

Biography

Starting Fall 2025, I am a Professor of Economics at Northwestern University, where I direct the Morton Shapiro Center of Applied Economics.  

I am a Labour and Applied Microeconomist with research interests across three main areas: (i) the economic causes and consequences of gender-based violence; (ii) the supply of, and demand for, job flexibility; (iii) the identification of behavioural models of decision-making in observational data or through strategic survey instruments.

For an overview of recent developments in the economics literature on gender-based violence, see my overview for the AEA here. The slides are enough for two classes in a gender or labor economics class.

I am keen to maximise the impact of economic research in wider society. I was awarded the UK Economic and Social Research Council Outstanding Impact in Public Policy Prize and the O2RB Impact Prize.

Please find my CV here.