Bancarization and violent attacks from guerrilla and other illegal groups in Colombia

Jose E. Gomez-Gonzalez, John D. Castro-Pantoja, Laura C. Díaz-Barreto, Tatiana A. Mora-Arbeláez, Daniela Rodriguez-Novoa

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Income shocks affect violence through the opportunity cost and rapacity effects. Existing studies focus on the impact of transitory shocks, especially commodity price innovations. This paper builds on this literature and studies the causal effect of permanent income shocks on armed conflict in Colombia. Using a rich dataset reporting all guerrilla and other armed groups' attacks by municipality between 2009 and 2014 and information on the provision of banking services, it shows that increasing bancarization leads to reductions in violence. These results have important implications for public policy in countries with a long history of violence. They suggest that promoting financial inclusion is useful for reducing conflict.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number101084
JournalSocio-Economic Planning Sciences
DOIs
StateAccepted/In press - 2021

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Geography, Planning and Development
  • Economics and Econometrics
  • Strategy and Management
  • Statistics, Probability and Uncertainty
  • Management Science and Operations Research

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