This study suggests that compared to NFHS-3, in NFHS-5, justification for wife-beating in most southern Indian states has increased or remained the same despite increasing prosperity, levels of female education, and better indicators of human development in the region. While the reasons for why this has occurred against the backdrop of improved conventional indicators for development are unclear, what is clear is that macroeconomic changes do not necessarily lead to changes in gender norms.
