Railway Construction and Violence against Women: Evidence from Mexico’s Tren Maya

Miriam Berretta () and Adan Silverio-Murillo ()
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Miriam Berretta: Gran Sasso Science Institute (GSSI), L'Aquila, Italy
Adan Silverio-Murillo: School of Government and Public Transformation, Tecnológico de Monterrey

No 44, Working Paper Series of the School of Government and Public Transformation from School of Government and Public Transformation

Abstract: Large infrastructure projects are promoted as development strategies, yet their social consequences are rarely studied. We examine how the construction of Mexico’s Tren Maya, a 1,554-kilometer railway, affected violence against women. Exploiting the staggered start of construction across railway sections in a difference-in-differences design, we find that construction increased assault-related hospitalisations of women by 57.8%, driven by intimate partner violence (67.5%) and non-partner assaults (50.8%). Reported crimes of sexual abuse rose by 40.2%. We find no increase in intimate partner violence against men, while estimates for other male outcomes are not informative. Construction also reshaped local labour markets, expanding jobs in the male-dominated transport sector and female-dominated food services. These shifts are consistent with two potential channels: a male backlash against women’s employment, increasing intimate partner violence, and an influx of male workers, increasing assaults against women in public spaces.

Keywords: infrastructure; railway; intimate partner violence; gender-based violence; domestic violence; Mexico (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 44 pages
Date: 2026-10
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https://egobiernoytp.tec.mx/sites/default/files/20 ... ce_against_women.pdf Full text, October 2026 (application/pdf)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gnt:wpaper:44

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