Women in the North East, Wales and in poor areas are more likely to be victims of violence than other women. That's the finding of this paper (pdf) by Kent Matthews and colleagues. They estimate that, in the North East, 519 women per 100,000 are admitted to A&E as a result of violent injuries. In Wales, the figure is 460 per 100,000. But it's only 134 in East Anglia and 222 in London.
They also found that violence-related injuries among men and women are significantly higher in summer than winter. Violence is also negatively related to incomes and house prices.
More intriguingly, higher beer prices are associated with less violence, because they mean less drunkenness. They say:
A rise in the real price of alcoholic drink would have a significant downward effect on the rate of violence-related injury.
However, male injuries are three times as sensitive to beer prices as female injuries.
Well we just can't take our beer can we? Personally I just end up crying if I have too much beer....
Posted by: angry_economist | January 30, 2006 at 09:45 PM
How about, to add an undoubtedly destructive suggestion, the presence of kids? Positive or negative correlation?
What if they are someone else's kids (ie kids from a man before the current man of the house)? (Though here we may have to try to disentangle income and similar effects).
Posted by: Maynard Handley | January 31, 2006 at 04:14 AM
Can't you hear the noise, "Chip, chip,...chip." They are chipping away at our freedoms.
I've been called a looney for saying that the health and safety fascists would come after alcohol soon, now that ciggies are on the run.
A few weeks ago a senior consultant was calling for drink sales in pubs to be rationed to three per customer on health grounds. Now we are being told that we should have high beer prices to stop us beating our spouses.
"Chip, chip...chip"
Posted by: John East | February 01, 2006 at 06:32 PM
could it not be that beer prices are higher in areas where incomes and house prices are higher such as the south east. Drunkeness is not neccessariliy lower but the other reasons to bash the missus probably are? Otherwise you could say that the best cure is to put up house prices in the north of england
Posted by: Mark T | February 02, 2006 at 03:16 PM