Data and Code for: "Cash and Conflict: Large-Scale Experimental Evidence from Niger"

Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s) Dominic Rohner, University of Lausanne; Patrick Premand, Development Impact Evaluation (DIME) Department, The World Bank

Version: View help for Version V1

Name	File Type	Size	Last Modified
final			10/13/2023 06:37:PM
raw			10/18/2023 08:07:PM

Project Description

Summary: Conflict undermines development, while adverse economic shocks, in turn, can increase conflict risk. Policy interventions such as cash transfers could attenuate conflict risk by raising poor households’ opportunity costs. However, cash transfers may also trigger looting, and expanding government programs may attract attacks to undermine state legitimacy. We study the net effect across these forces based on the large-scale randomization of a government-led cash transfer program and geo-referenced conflict events. Cash transfers did not yield greater pacification but—if anything—triggered a short-term increase in conflict events (by 0.63 percentage point), substantially driven by terrorist attacks by foreign rebel groups.

Scope of Project

JEL Classification:
      D74 Conflict; Conflict Resolution; Alliances; Revolutions
      I38 Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty: Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs
      O17 Formal and Informal Sectors; Shadow Economy; Institutional Arrangements

Geographic Coverage: Niger

Universe: Villages in Niger

Data Type(s): administrative records data; aggregate data

Methodology

Unit(s) of Observation: Village

Geographic Unit: Village

Related Publications

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Published Versions

V1 [2024-02-15]

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Dublin Core

DDI 2.5

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