Geography, Poverty and Conflict in Nepal

We conduct an empirical analysis of the geographic, economic, and social factors that contributed to the spread of civil war in Nepal over the period 1996-2006. This within-country analysis complements existing cross-country studies on the same subject. Using a detailed dataset to track civil war ca...

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Main Authors:	Do, Quy-Toan, Iyer, Lakshmi
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	EN
Published:	2012
Subjects:	Conflict Conflict Resolution Alliances D740 Measurement and Analysis of Poverty I320 Economic Development: Human Resources Human Development Income Distribution Migration O150 Formal and Informal Sectors Shadow Economy Institutional Arrangements O170
Online Access:	http://hdl.handle.net/10986/5667

id	okr-10986-5667
recordtype	oai_dc
spelling	okr-10986-56672021-04-23T14:02:23Z Geography, Poverty and Conflict in Nepal Do, Quy-Toan Iyer, Lakshmi Conflict Conflict Resolution Alliances D740 Measurement and Analysis of Poverty I320 Economic Development: Human Resources Human Development Income Distribution Migration O150 Formal and Informal Sectors Shadow Economy Institutional Arrangements O170 We conduct an empirical analysis of the geographic, economic, and social factors that contributed to the spread of civil war in Nepal over the period 1996-2006. This within-country analysis complements existing cross-country studies on the same subject. Using a detailed dataset to track civil war casualties across space and over time, several patterns are documented. Conflict-related deaths are significantly higher in poorer districts and in geographical locations that favor insurgents, such as mountains and forests; a 10 percentage point increase in poverty is associated with 25-27 additional conflict-related deaths. This result is similar to that documented in cross-country studies. In addition, the relationship with poverty and geography is similar for deaths caused by the insurgents and deaths caused by the state. Furthermore, poorer districts are likely to be drawn into the insurgency earlier, consistent with the theory that a lower cost of recruiting rebels is an important factor in starting conflict. On the other hand, geographic factors are not significantly associated with such onset, suggesting that they instead contribute to the intensity of violence only after conflict has started. Finally, in contrast to some cross-country analyses, ethnic and caste polarization, land inequality, and political participation are not significantly associated with violence. 2012-03-30T07:33:56Z 2012-03-30T07:33:56Z 2010 Journal Article Journal of Peace Research 00223433 http://hdl.handle.net/10986/5667 EN http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/igo World Bank Journal Article Nepal
repository_type	Digital Repository
institution_category	Foreign Institution
institution	Digital Repositories
building	World Bank Open Knowledge Repository
collection	World Bank
language	EN
topic	Conflict Conflict Resolution Alliances D740 Measurement and Analysis of Poverty I320 Economic Development: Human Resources Human Development Income Distribution Migration O150 Formal and Informal Sectors Shadow Economy Institutional Arrangements O170
spellingShingle	Conflict Conflict Resolution Alliances D740 Measurement and Analysis of Poverty I320 Economic Development: Human Resources Human Development Income Distribution Migration O150 Formal and Informal Sectors Shadow Economy Institutional Arrangements O170 Do, Quy-Toan Iyer, Lakshmi Geography, Poverty and Conflict in Nepal
geographic_facet	Nepal
relation	http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/igo
description	We conduct an empirical analysis of the geographic, economic, and social factors that contributed to the spread of civil war in Nepal over the period 1996-2006. This within-country analysis complements existing cross-country studies on the same subject. Using a detailed dataset to track civil war casualties across space and over time, several patterns are documented. Conflict-related deaths are significantly higher in poorer districts and in geographical locations that favor insurgents, such as mountains and forests; a 10 percentage point increase in poverty is associated with 25-27 additional conflict-related deaths. This result is similar to that documented in cross-country studies. In addition, the relationship with poverty and geography is similar for deaths caused by the insurgents and deaths caused by the state. Furthermore, poorer districts are likely to be drawn into the insurgency earlier, consistent with the theory that a lower cost of recruiting rebels is an important factor in starting conflict. On the other hand, geographic factors are not significantly associated with such onset, suggesting that they instead contribute to the intensity of violence only after conflict has started. Finally, in contrast to some cross-country analyses, ethnic and caste polarization, land inequality, and political participation are not significantly associated with violence.
format	Journal Article
author	Do, Quy-Toan Iyer, Lakshmi
author_facet	Do, Quy-Toan Iyer, Lakshmi
author_sort	Do, Quy-Toan
title	Geography, Poverty and Conflict in Nepal
title_short	Geography, Poverty and Conflict in Nepal
title_full	Geography, Poverty and Conflict in Nepal
title_fullStr	Geography, Poverty and Conflict in Nepal
title_full_unstemmed	Geography, Poverty and Conflict in Nepal
title_sort	geography, poverty and conflict in nepal
publishDate	2012
url	http://hdl.handle.net/10986/5667
_version_	1764395883157258240

Geography, Poverty and Conflict in Nepal

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