Rural windfall or a new resource curse? Coca, income, and civil conflict in Colombia

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Angrist, Joshua D.; Kugler, Adriana D.
• 署名单位: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); National Bureau of Economic Research; National Bureau of Economic Research; University of Houston System; University of Houston; IZA Institute Labor Economics
• 刊物名称: REVIEW OF ECONOMICS AND STATISTICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0034-6535
• DOI: 10.1162/rest.90.2.191
• 发表日期: 2008-05
• 页码: 191-215
• 关键词: NATURAL-RESOURCES; labor-market; WAR; shocks; IMPACT; boom

摘要

We study the consequences of an exogenous upsurge in coca prices and cultivation in Colombia, where most coca leaf is now harvested. This shift generated only modest economic gains in rural areas, primarily in the form of increased self-employment earnings and increased labor supply by teenage boys. The rural areas that saw accelerated coca production subsequently became considerably more violent, while urban areas were affected little. These findings are consistent with the view that the Colombian civil conflict is fueled by the financial opportunities that coca provides and that rent-seeking by combatants limits the economic gains from coca.