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What Do We (Not) Know About Development Aid and Violence? A Systematic Review

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  • Zürcher, Christoph

Abstract

The paper presents findings from the first-ever systematic review of the causal impact of development aid on violence in countries affected by civil war. The review identifies 19 studies: Fourteen within-country studies from Afghanistan, Iraq, Colombia, Philippines, and India, and five cross-national studies. These studies investigate the impact of six aid types: Community-driven development, conditional cash transfers, public employment scheme, humanitarian aid, infrastructure, and aid provided by military commanders in Iraq and Afghanistan. The evidence for a violence-dampening effect of aid in conflict zones is not strong. Aid in conflict zones is more likely to exacerbate violence than to dampen violence. A violence-dampening effect of aid appears to be conditional on a relatively secure environment for aid projects to be implemented. A violence-increasing effect occurs when aid is misappropriated by violent actors, or when violent actors sabotage aid projects in order to disrupt the cooperation between the local population and the government.

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  • Zürcher, Christoph, 2017. "What Do We (Not) Know About Development Aid and Violence? A Systematic Review," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 506-522.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:98:y:2017:i:c:p:506-522
    DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2017.05.013
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    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. Are economists’ standard solutions part of the problem in fragile states?
      by Tobias Haque in Development Policy Blog on 2018-05-24 20:00:42

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