Social Cooperation and the Problem of the Conflict Gap: Survey and Experimental Evidence from Post-War Tajikistan

Alessandra Cassar, Pauline Grosjean and Sam Whitt
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Sam Whitt: U.S. Department of State

No 2011-15, Discussion Papers from School of Economics, The University of New South Wales

Abstract: Our research provides experimental and survey evidence on the pro-social behavior (trust, reciprocity, a sense of fairness) and preferences for anonymous market transactions of former combatants. Our results, from a random sample in post-war Tajikistan, show that trust, reciprocity, generosity (dictator giving) are lowest among those respondents reporting having fought during the 1992-1997 Tajik civil war or anytime since its end, especially when the experimental treatment matches individuals with anonymous others from their local community. Consistent with the behavioral results, fighting is associated with lower trust towards any group outside the direct family, a lower willingness to engage in impersonal exchange and stronger kinship-based norms of morality. Replicating previous literature results, we find that ex-combatants are more likely to participate in groups and collective action but we caution that this may just capture political opposition, just as participating in combat did. Overall, our results point to a lasting “conflict gap” between combatants and non-combatants, even long after the end of the civil war, which question the rehabilitation of combatants.

Keywords: Civil war; trust game; dictator game; market institution; experimental methods (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C93 D03 O53 P30 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 35 pages
Date: 2011-10
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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