It's the Local Economy, Stupid! Geographic Wealth Dispersion and Conflict Outbreak Location

Halvard Buhaug, Kristian Skrede Gleditsch (), Helge Holtermann, Gudrun Østby' and Andreas Forø Tollefsen
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Halvard Buhaug: Centre for the Study of Civil War, PRIO, Oslo, Norway
Kristian Skrede Gleditsch: Centre for the Study of Civil War, PRIO, Oslo, Norway and University of Essex, Colchester, Essex, UK
Helge Holtermann: Centre for the Study of Civil War, PRIO, Oslo, Norway and University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
Gudrun Østby': Centre for the Study of Civil War, PRIO, Oslo, Norway
Andreas Forø Tollefsen: Centre for the Study of Civil War, PRIO, Oslo, Norway and Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway

Journal of Conflict Resolution, 2011, vol. 55, issue 5, 814-840

Abstract: Income varies considerably within countries and the locations where conflicts emerge are rarely typical or representative for states at large. Yet, most research on conflict has only examined national income averages and neglected spatial variation. The authors argue that civil conflicts are more likely to erupt in areas with low absolute income, even if a country's gross domestic product (GDP) per capita is not necessarily low, and in areas with large deviations from national averages. The authors test these hypotheses empirically using spatially disaggregated data on the location of conflict outbreaks and per capita income estimates. The authors find that areas with absolute poverty indeed see more outbreaks of conflict, and they find some evidence that inequality increases the risk of conflict. Subnational information can improve on conventional country-based measures and help our understanding of how local features and variation can give rise to mobilization and violence.

Keywords: conflict; onset location; geographic variation; inequality; spatial analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:jocore:v:55:y:2011:i:5:p:814-840

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