Civil Conflict and Antipoverty Programmes: Effects on Demobilisation

31 Pages Posted: 13 May 2015 Last revised: 12 Jul 2019

See all articles by Paola Pena

Paola Pena

The University of Manchester

Joaquin A Urrego

World Bank - Office of the Chief Economist for Equitable Growth, Finance, and Institutions; Universidad EAFIT - School of Economics and Finance - Center for Research in Economic & Finance (CIEF)

Juam Villa

The University of Manchester

Date Written: April 8, 2015

Abstract

Antipoverty programmes have been successful in helping millions of people afford better livelihoods. While this is well known, little research has yet been conducted that examines the power of such programmes to influence outcomes in times of conflict, especially in countries where antipoverty programmes are implemented amidst disputes against illegal armed groups. This paper focuses on the implementation of Familias en Accion, a flagship antipoverty programme in Colombia during the early 2000s when the country was experiencing the crudest peak in its long-lasting internal conflict. Our estimations are based on a natural experiment that resulted from the rolling out of the programme which allowed us to identify a difference-in-differences approach. Our results indicate that the programme had positive effects on the demobilisation of combatants. The theoretical transmission channels of these effects are discussed and contrasted with the existing empirical evidence.

Keywords: Antipoverty transfers, demobilisation, civil conflict, difference-in-differences

JEL Classification: I38, D74

Suggested Citation

Pena, Paola and Urrego, Joaquin and Villa, Juam, Civil Conflict and Antipoverty Programmes: Effects on Demobilisation (April 8, 2015). Center for Research in Economics and Finance (CIEF), Working Paper No. 15-10, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2603463 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2603463

Paola Pena

The University of Manchester ( email )

Oxford Road
Manchester, N/A M13 9PL
United Kingdom

Joaquin Urrego (Contact Author)

World Bank - Office of the Chief Economist for Equitable Growth, Finance, and Institutions ( email )

Washington, DC 20433
United States
2024588378 (Phone)

Universidad EAFIT - School of Economics and Finance - Center for Research in Economic & Finance (CIEF) ( email )

Carrera 49 No. 7 South - 50
Medellin
Colombia

Juam Villa

The University of Manchester ( email )

Oxford Road
Manchester, N/A M13 9PL
United Kingdom

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