Conflict and reciprocity: A study with Palestinian youths

Elisa Cavatorta, Daniel Zizzo and Yousef Daoud

Journal of Development Economics, 2023, vol. 160, issue C

Abstract: This paper studies how reciprocity in the forms of conditional cooperation and vindictive behavior is affected by differential exposure to conflict. We use experimental games to measure preferences of adolescents living in the West Bank, and their obligation to cross military checkpoints to go to school as a proxy for differential exposure to the conflict. We find that adolescents who have an obligation to cross military checkpoints to go to school engage in more reciprocal behavior: they more frequently cooperate in response to cooperative behavior and retaliate against hostile behavior. Part of the effect is explained by changes in the beliefs about their peers’ behavior. A re-analysis of micro-datasets from other conflict contexts provides evidence of the generalizability of our results.

Keywords: Reciprocity; Cooperation; Conflict; Violence; Palestine (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C72 C91 D91 I25 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:deveco:v:160:y:2023:i:c:s0304387822001316

DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2022.102989

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