In fact the discipline of economics has always included the study of conflict and war. Violent deaths increase when the coffee price falls but decrease when the oil price falls. For example, in may 2003 the commission set in train the forest law, enforcement, governance and trade flegt initiative, which will create a licensing system to 1 cited in macartan humphreys, economics and violent conflict harvard university, february 2003, p 8 n71. James habyarimana, macartan humphreys, daniel posner, and jeremy weinstein. Macartan humphreys, mansoob murshed, michael spagat and participants in the first annual workshop of the households in conflict network in berlin, in seminars in edinburgh, the hague, brussels, oxford, columbia and.
Also considered is whether violent conflict is caused by undertaken on the effects of internal trade. Why is there costly violent conflict when most people would be better off by settling. His research focuses on the political economy of development, governance, and conflict processes. Economics and violent conflict harvard humanitarian. Policies that induce conflict may result from deliberate decisions to weaken state institutions so. Theories of conflict 16 theories of conflict conflict is a pervasive element in our society. Can we use the same theories and empirical strategies to study violent and non. The city as arena, hub and preypatterns of violence in kabul and karachi. Political economy of development ashutosh varshney.
Macartan humphreys and ashutosh varshney1 contents. Natural resources, conflict, and conflict resolution. James fearon, changtai hsieh, macartan humphreys, david leonard, edward miguel, suresh naidu, lant pritchett. The author finds evidence that 1 conflict onset is more responsive to the impacts of past natural resource production than to the potential for future production, supporting a weak states mechanism rather than a rebel greed mechanism. Response of households to armed conflict a case study. Thus, the question of how inequality relates to conflict remains. Macartan humphreys, alexandra scacco, michael doyle, kris. International mediation, selection effects, and the. Thanks to macartan humphreys, scott gates, nils petter.
Macartan humphreys is assistant professor of political science. Policies that induce conflict may result from deliberate decisions to weaken state institutions so that leaders can. Igbohausa feud that began after the military coup and countercoup of 1966, culminating in the civil war in 1967, efikibibio conflict, tivjukun debacle, fulanibirom clashes, and itsekiriurhoboijaw conflict in the niger delta. Economics and violent conflict harvard humanitarian initiative. To date, attention to the gender impacts of conflict and war has focused almost. In case of conflict zones, security, both national and personal, is the first casualty. Policies that induce conflict may result from deliberate decisions to weaken state. Conflict economics is a branch of economics that puts the allocation of resources by means of violent fighting, i. We start by debunking common misperceptions about the microeconomics of conflict and identify several contributions to economic theory and, in particular, to empirics, methods and data. Also considered is whether violent conflict is caused by economic inequality. To date, however, competing accounts have typically not been grounded in systematic, empirical studies of the determinants of participation. This article discusses how endogenous mechanisms linking processes of violent conflict and the economic wellbeing of individuals and households in combat areas provide valuable micro.
Results also contribute to the solution of the causality puzzle between conflict and inequality. Macartan humphreys macartan humphreys is a professor of political science and the director of the center for the study of development strategies at columbia university. This greed hypothesis has its base in rational choice economics. Readings introduction to political economy economics. Macartan humphreys is assistant professor of political science, columbia university, 420 west 118th st. There is a possibility that it could occur at any time in our society. Wars in developing countries have heavy human, economic, and social costs and are a major cause of poverty and underdevelopment. Citeseerx document details isaac councill, lee giles, pradeep teregowda.
His dissertation, the functions of social conflict, took conflict theory in a new direction and was later named as one of the bestselling sociology books of the twenti. Ii the economic origins of conflict 2 wealth and war 2 inequality and civil war 3. Ongoing research focuses on civil wars, postconflict development, ethnic politics, natural resource management, political authority and leadership, and democratic development. Unicef unicef social inclusion, policy and budgeting. Yet an assessment of the innovation applied by terrorist groups to their financing is lacking, with consideration typically limited to where does the money come from and what is it used for. Humphreys, macartan 2002 economics and violent conflict. We find that inequality increases during the course of violent conflict, and particularly does so in. A microlevel perspective on the causes and duration of warfare show all authors. Pdf harvard program on humanitarian policy and conflict research 2003. Since world war ii about 16 million people have been killed in civil wars. There are several direct and indirect ways through which violent events. Macartan humphreys, economics and violent conflict cambridge.
It begins by considering the economic factors that make some societies susceptible to conflict. For example, in papua new guinea, the panguna copper mine, once the largest open pit mine in the world was the. Conflict economics sheds a different light on appropriation. Conflict and problems associated with natural resources. The nexus of conflict, transportation costs, and poverty is one which has received scant attention in the literature. Poverty dynamics, violent conflict and convergence in rwanda. Draft chapter for the oxford handbook of the economics of peace and conflict. Kennedy et al, environmental quality and regional conflict carnegie commission on preventing deadly conflict, december 1998. Harvard college, 2002 fanny coulomb and jacques fontanel, disarmament. The role of wages and auditing during a crackdown on corruption in the city of buenos aires pdf, journal of law and economics 461. The type of economic policies that governments choose plays a significant role in determining the likelihood of conflict. Macartan humphreys professor of political science, columbia university 812 iab, 420 west 118th st, new york, 10027 macartan. Sometimes however conflict may result from attempts to increase economic. E miguel, c camerer, k casey, j cohen, km esterling, a gerber.
The innovation terrorist groups apply to their strategy and tactical operations is subject to increasing study. Large scale violent conflicts occur with great frequency in poor and slowly growing. This research draws on a survey led by the authors together with the postconflict reintegration initiative for development and empowerment pride in sierra leone. Do different forms of conflict have different causes. Jerry muller us and them, marchapril 2008 tells a disconcerting story about the potential for ethnic diversity to generate violent conflict.
A range of seemingly rival theories attempt to explain why some individuals take extraordinary risks by choosing to participate in armed conflict. There seems to be a strong association between armed conflicts, poverty and underdevelopment. I am a professor of political science at columbia university in new york and director of the institutions and political inequality group at the wzb berlin social science center. A century of economic thought, defence and peace economics 14 2003.
Violent conflict and the millennium development goals columbia. Finally, turning to the economic legacies of war, we frame the literature in terms. Uncovering the mechanisms macartan humphreys1 march 2005 1 macartan. Macartan humphreys columbia university and wzb berlin. The followers of the functional approach think that a conflict serves a social function and those who view a conflict as situational, suggest that conflict is an expression under certain situations. Diagnosis and recommendations first draft prepared for the meeting of the millennium development goals poverty task force workshop, bangkok june 2004. Policies that induce conflict may result from deliberate decisions to weaken state institutions.
Planning challenges and policy innovations 2 course requirements this course meets two days a week a class to introduce a concept and the second to have student led discussion about the issue of the week, building on the expectation that students will have completed all readings prior to class. Economics and violent conflict macartan humphreys harvard university february 2003. It can occur between persons, group, organizations and nations. This problem is even bigger in regions with excess natural resources. He uses a variety of methods including survey work, lab experimentation, field experimentation, econometric analysis. This paper explores the effect of conflict on poverty in nigeria, taking accessibility into account. M h professor of political science, columbia university. This paper takes a parallel crossnational approach. Conflict and critical theories 215 united states and arrived in new york in 1941. Theories of conflict 15 chapter 2 theories of conflict. Columbia university and wzb berlin social science center. Natural resources, conflict, and conflict resolution columbia.
Root causes of violent conflict in developing countries. The descriptive findings are a first step in oping evidencebased devel policy. Macartan humphreys 2003 conflicts are characterized by a total breakdown of law, security and community structures, with gross human rights violations perpetrated against civilian populations. Calculated from world bank 2010 and humphreys 2003. Violent conflict and the millennium development goals. Macartan humphreys works on the political economy of development and formal political theory. Policies that induce conflict may result from deliberate. International mediation, selection effects, and the question of bias bernd beber new york university international mediation of violent conflicts is commonplace in todays world, and so is academic research on its features and effectiveness.
1587 792 1510 262 342 1477 217 221 1009 948 533 697 61 1575 829 1368 1105 269 920 1626 1056 545 851 1402 1537 1279 460 1090 493 126 843 881 819 1175 753 581 603 1468