Lecture by Dr. Olga Popova (Leibniz Institute for East and Southeast European Studies)
On April 9th, 2026, the Faculty of Economic Sciences at the University of Warsaw will host Dr. Olga Popova from the Leibniz Institute for East and Southeast European Studies (IOS) – a german research institute specialising in the history, economic growth and political development of Eastern and Southeast Europe.
Dr. Popova’s research focuses on health and environmental economics, quality of life, and economic growth, with a particular emphasis on emerging and transition economies. [More information on the speaker’s research under the link: https://leibniz-ios.de/en/people/details/olga-popova].
During her visit to the Faculty of Economic Sciences, Dr. Popova will deliver a lecture titled „Natural Disasters and Acceptance of Intimate Partner Violence: The Global Evidence” (co-authored by Astghik Mavisakalyan and Vladimir Otrachshenko).
The lecture will be held on Thursday, April 9th, 2026, at 17:00 (room A201), as part of the Warsaw Economic Seminars. We invite everyone interested in the topic to read the abstract below and to join us for the event.
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This paper examines the dynamic impact of natural disasters on the individual acceptance of a physical form of intimate partner violence (IPV). Based on a global sample of individual survey data and historical geo-referenced records of natural disasters at a subnational level, we show that natural disasters have long-lasting effects on IPV acceptance, increasing it in the short- (0-4 years) and medium- (10-14 years) run. Furthermore, heterogeneity analyses reveal that lower educated people are affected more relative to higher educated people, men are affected more than women, as are older cohorts relative to younger cohorts, while there are no differences between the effects of disasters on IPV attitudes of people with high and low income. Drawing on theories of IPV, we also uncover that likely mechanisms that may link disasters to the increased acceptance of IPV are psychological distress and economic insecurity fears.