Forest Resources and Armed Conflict in sub-Saharan Africa
Piao, Gengbin.
2019
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There is no economics literature on the relationship between forest
cover and armed conflict. In this paper, I examine this relationship for
sub-Saharan Africa using geo-coded information about forest cover and the
incidence of conflict. I find that a rise in the world price of wood will have a
significant negative effect on forest cover in the same year. Moreover, when the
price of wood rises, ... read moreareas with higher average forest cover exhibit a lower
incidence of conflict. These areas are likely to experience a reduced incidence of
conflict by 1.9 percentage points, which is equivalent to 19% lower probability of
conflict relative to the unconditional mean. These results are robust when I use
alternative datasets on the incidence of conflict and using lagged tree cover as a
proxy for average tree cover. These findings support the "opportunity cost"
channel - if labor is used to support violent conflict, then a higher income from
forestry will divert labor away from conflict and towards forest
extraction.
Thesis (M.S.)--Tufts University, 2019.
Submitted to the Dept. of Economics.
Advisor: Ujjayant Chakravorty.
Committee: Cynthia Kinnan.
Keyword: Economics.read less - ID:
- tt44q0932
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