When Children Lose Bargaining Power: An Economic Model of Domestic Violence against Children

Abstract

This paper develops a noncooperative family game-theoretic model to analyze domestic violence against children, focusing on how children’s bargaining power affects the equilibrium outcomes between them and their parents in violent games. I present two scenarios: one in which children retain some negotiating leverage through external support services and another in which children lose bargaining power entirely. In the first scenario, parents use violence up to the point where children’s utility matches their threat point, which is based on the support provided by external services. In contrast, parents in the second scenario maximize their violent behavior while staying below the threshold that would trigger external interventions. My analysis extends existing economic models of domestic violence by specifically addressing violence against children, who often lack the economic resources or by negotiating the leverage that adult victims may possess.