Essays on the political economy of development / Jonah Matthew Rexer.

Format:

Book

Thesis/Dissertation

Author/Creator:

Rexer, Jonah Matthew, author.

Contributor:

Anagol, Santosh, degree supervisor.

University of Pennsylvania. Department of Applied Economics, degree granting institution.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Political science.

Sub Saharan Africa studies.

African studies.

Peace studies.

Applied economics--Penn dissertations.

Penn dissertations--Applied economics.

Local Subjects:

Political science.

Sub Saharan Africa studies.

African studies.

Peace studies.

Applied economics--Penn dissertations.

Penn dissertations--Applied economics.

Genre:

Academic theses.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (359 pages)

Contained In:

Dissertations Abstracts International 82-11A.

Place of Publication:

[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania] : University of Pennsylvania ; Ann Arbor : ProQuest Dissertations & Theses, 2021.

Language Note:

English

System Details:

Mode of access: World Wide Web.

text file

Summary:

Violent political conflict is inimical to economic development and long-run prosperity. In this dissertation, I study the economic and political incentives underlying persistent violence in fragile states, with a focus on the interactions between firms, governments, and armed groups in both legal and illicit markets. This work centers on Nigeria, the largest country in Africa and one that exhibits many of the political, economic, and institutional challenges that are characteristic of weak states at low levels of development. This thesis analyzes two ongoing conflicts in Nigeria--the Boko Haram Islamist insurgency, and the Niger Delta oil conflict--to identify their causes and consequences. Methodologically, I combine applied economic theory that spans numerous fields and reduced-form empirical strategies with novel measurements of corruption, illicit activity, and armed group behavior. To this I add detailed government administrative data on extractive industries and newswire-based conflict event data in order to generate a rich empirical picture of the economic and political forces driving instability and violence in Nigeria. I find that violent conflict in Nigeria responds to standard economic incentives, follows the simple logic of opportunity costs and bargaining. The lessons from the Nigerian experience may be of use to many countries struggling to emerge from the mire of intractable violence and to provide their citizens with a more hopeful future.

Notes:

Source: Dissertations Abstracts International, Volume: 82-11, Section: A.

Advisors: Anagol, Santosh; Committee members: Arthur van Benthem; Guy Grossman.

Department: Applied Economics.

Ph.D. University of Pennsylvania 2021.

Local Notes:

School code: 0175

ISBN:

9798738618147

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.

This item must not be sold to any third party vendors.