Building Peace: The Impact of Aid on the Labor Market for Insurgents / Radha Iyengar, Jonathan Monten, Matthew Hanson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Iyengar, Radha.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Monten, Jonathan.

Hanson, Matthew.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w17297.

NBER working paper series no. w17297

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Other Title:

Building Peace

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2011.

Summary:

Employment growth could reduce violence during civil conflicts. To determine if increased employment affects violence we analyzed varying employment in development programs run by different US military divisions in Iraqi districts. Employment levels vary with funding periods and the military division in charge. Controlling for variability between districts, we find that a 10% increase in labor-related spending generates a 15-20% decline in labor-intensive insurgent violence. Overall the 10% spending increase is associated with a nearly 10% violence reduction, due to reduction in attacks which kill civilians, but increased attacks against the military. These findings indicate that labor-intensive development programs can reduce violence during insurgencies.

Notes:

Print version record

August 2011.