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Education, Poverty and Terrorism: Is There a Causal Connection?

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Author Info
Alan B. Krueger
Jitka Maleckova

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Abstract

The paper investigates whether there is a connection between poverty or low education and terrorism. We review evidence on hate crimes, which are closely related to terrorism; the occurrence of hate crimes is largely independent of economic conditions. We analyze data on support for attacks against Israeli targets from public opinion polls conducted in the West Bank and Gaza Strip; support for violent attacks does not decrease among those with higher education and higher living standards. The core contribution of the paper is a statistical analysis of the determinants of participation in Hezbollah militant activities; having a living standard above the poverty line or a secondary or higher education is positively associated with participation in Hezbollah. We also find that Israeli Jewish settlers who attacked Palestinians in the West Bank in the early 1980s were overwhelmingly from high-paying occupations. Although our results are tentative and exploratory, they suggest that neither poverty nor education has a direct, causal impact on terrorism.

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Publisher Info
Article provided by American Economic Association in its journal Journal of Economic Perspectives.

Volume (Year): 17 (2003)
Issue (Month): 4 (Fall)
Pages: 119-144
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Handle: RePEc:aea:jecper:v:17:y:2003:i:4:p:119-144

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  1. Tim Krieger & Daniel Meierrieks, 2008. "What causes terrorism?," Working Papers 12, University of Paderborn, CIE Center for International Economics. [Downloadable!]
  2. Eli Berman & Laurence R. Iannaccone, 2005. "Religious Extremism: The Good, The Bad, and The Deadly," NBER Working Papers 11663, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  3. Antecol, Heather & Cobb-Clark, Deborah, 2008. "The Effect of Community-Level Socio-Economic Conditions on Threatening Racial Encounters," IZA Discussion Papers 3828, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
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  4. Bruno S. Frey & Simon Luechinger & Alois Stutzer, . "Valuing Public Goods: The Life Satisfaction Approach," IEW - Working Papers iewwp184, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - IEW. [Downloadable!]
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  5. Jan Schnellenbach, 2005. "Appeasing Nihilists? Some Economic Thoughts on Reducing Terrorist Activity," Law and Economics 0507001, EconWPA. [Downloadable!]
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  6. Rohner, D., 2007. "From Rags to Rifles: The Economics of Deprivation, Conflict and Welfare State," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 0771, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge. [Downloadable!]
  7. James E. Anderson, 2008. "Terrorism, Trade and Public Policy," Boston College Working Papers in Economics 701, Boston College Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  8. Nils Braakmann, 2007. "Islamistic Terror, the War on Iraq and the Job Prospects of Arab Men in Britain: Does a Country’s Direct Involvement Matter?," Working Paper Series in Economics 70, University of Lüneburg, Institute of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  9. Alberto Abadie, 2006. "Poverty, Political Freedom, and the Roots of Terrorism," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 96(2), pages 50-56, May. [Downloadable!]
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  10. Erwann Michel-Kerjan & Paul A. Raschky & Howard C. Kunreuther, 2009. "Corporate Demand for Insurance: An Empirical Analysis of the U.S. Market for Catastrophe and Non-Catastrophe Risks," Working Papers hal-00372420_v1, HAL. [Downloadable!]
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  11. Axel Dreher & Martin Gassebner & Lars-H. R. Siemers, 2007. "Does Terror Threaten Human Rights? Evidence from Panel Data," CESifo Working Paper Series CESifo Working Paper No. , CESifo GmbH. [Downloadable!]
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  12. Makowsky, Michael, 2009. "Religious Extremism, Clubs, and Civil Liberties: A Model of Religious Populations," MPRA Paper 14358, University Library of Munich, Germany. [Downloadable!]
  13. AZAM, Jean-Paul & DELACROIX, Alexandra, 2004. "Aid and the Delegated Fight against Terrorism," IDEI Working Papers 324, Institut d'Économie Industrielle (IDEI), Toulouse, revised Jul 2005. [Downloadable!]
  14. Entorf, 2005. "Islamistischer Terrorismus: Analysen, Entwicklungen und Anti- Terror-Politik aus der Sicht ökonomischer Forschung," General Economics and Teaching 0508001, EconWPA. [Downloadable!]
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  15. Charles Anderton & John Carter, 2005. "On Rational Choice Theory And The Study Of Terrorism," Defence and Peace Economics, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 16(4), pages 275-282, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  16. AZAM, Jean-Paul & THELEN, Véronique, 2007. "The Roles of Foreign Aid and Education in the War on Terror," IDEI Working Papers 449, Institut d'Économie Industrielle (IDEI), Toulouse. [Downloadable!]
  17. Karolyi, G. Andrew, 2006. "The Consequences of Terrorism for Financial Markets: What Do We Know?," Working Paper Series 2006-6, Ohio State University, Charles A. Dice Center for Research in Financial Economics. [Downloadable!]
  18. Charles Anderton & John Carter, 2004. "Applying Intermediate Microeconomics to Terrorism," Working Papers 0412, College of the Holy Cross, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  19. AZAM, Jean-Paul, 2006. "How to Curb "High Quality" Terrorism?," IDEI Working Papers 418, Institut d'Économie Industrielle (IDEI), Toulouse. [Downloadable!]
  20. Edward Glaeser & Giacomo Ponzetto & Andrei Shleifer, 2006. "Why Does Democracy Need Education?," NBER Working Papers 12128, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  21. Jaeger, David A & Paserman, Marco Daniele, 2005. "The Cycle of Violence? An Empirical Analysis of Fatalities in the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict," CEPR Discussion Papers 5320, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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