Fertile ground for conflict
2017
Couttenier, Mathieu | Soubeyran, Raphael | Berman, Nicolas | Université de Genève = University of Geneva (UNIGE) | Laboratoire Montpelliérain d'Économie Théorique et Appliquée (LAMETA) ; Université Montpellier 1 (UM1)-Université Paul-Valéry - Montpellier 3 (UPVM)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Centre international d'études supérieures en sciences agronomiques (Montpellier SupAgro)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national d’études supérieures agronomiques de Montpellier (Montpellier SupAgro) | Groupement de Recherche en Économie Quantitative d'Aix-Marseille (GREQAM) ; École des hautes études en sciences sociales (EHESS)-Aix Marseille Université (AMU)-École Centrale de Marseille (ECM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) | ANR GREEN-Econ research project | auto-saisine
Localisation : Centre de documentation P. Bartoli, UMR LAMETA, Montpellier (S WPL 2011-08) <br/>2017-06 <br/>Localisation : Centre de documentation P. Bartoli, UMR LAMETA, Montpellier (S WPL 2011-08) <br/>2017-06
اظهر المزيد [+] اقل [-]إنجليزي. We investigate how variations in soil fertility affect civil conflicts. We first present a model with heterogeneous land in which variations in input prices (fertilizers) affect appropriable rents and the opportunity costs of fighting. The theory predicts that spikes in input prices increase the likelihood of conflicts through their effect on income and inequality, and that this effect is magnified when soil fertility is naturally more heterogenous. We test these predictions using data on conflict events covering all Sub-Saharan African countries at a spatial resolution of 0.5 x 0.5 degree latitude and longitude over the 1997-2013 period. We combine information on soil characteristics and worldwide variations in fertilizer prices to identify local exogenous changes in input costs. As predicted, variations in soil productivity triggered by variations in fertilizer prices are positively associated with conflicts, especially in cells where land endowments are more heterogeneous. In addition, we find that the distribution of land fertility both within and across ethnic groups affects violence, and that the effect of between-group heterogeneity in soil quality is magnified in densely populated areas. Overall, our findings imply that inequality in access to fertile areas - an issue largely neglected in the literature dealing with the roots of Sub-Saharan African civil wars - constitutes a serious threat to peace at the local-level..
اظهر المزيد [+] اقل [-]الكلمات المفتاحية الخاصة بالمكنز الزراعي (أجروفوك)
المعلومات البيبليوغرافية
تم تزويد هذا السجل من قبل Institut national de la recherche agronomique