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Rationality as a Barrier to Peace: Micro-evidence from Kosovo

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  • Sumon Kumar Bhaumik

    ([1] Department of Economics and Finance, Brunel University, Uxbridge, Middlesex UB8 3PH, UK[2] IZA – Institute for the Study of Labour, P.O. Box 7240, D-53072, Bonn, Germany[3] William Davidson Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.)

  • Ira N Gang

    ([1] IZA – Institute for the Study of Labour, P.O. Box 7240, D-53072, Bonn, Germany[2] Department of Economics, Rutgers University, New Jersey Hall, 75 Hamilton Street, New Brunswick, NJ 08901-1248, USA.)

  • Myeong-Su Yun

    ([1] IZA – Institute for the Study of Labour, P.O. Box 7240, D-53072, Bonn, Germany[2] Department of Economics, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, USA.)

Abstract

Despite a significant expansion of the literature on conflicts and fragility of states, only a few systematic attempts have been made to link the theoretical literature on social conflicts to the available micro-level information about the people who are involved in these conflicts. We address this lacuna in the literature using a household-level data set from Kosovo. Our analysis suggests that it is individually rational for competing ethnic communities, Kosovar Albanians and Kosovar Serbs, to resist a quick agreement on a social contract to share the region's resources. Comparative Economic Studies (2009) 51, 242–264. doi:10.1057/ces.2009.1

Suggested Citation

  • Sumon Kumar Bhaumik & Ira N Gang & Myeong-Su Yun, 2009. "Rationality as a Barrier to Peace: Micro-evidence from Kosovo," Comparative Economic Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Association for Comparative Economic Studies, vol. 51(2), pages 242-264, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:compes:v:51:y:2009:i:2:p:242-264
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    Cited by:

    1. Bhaumik, Sumon K. & Gang, Ira N. & Yun, Myeong-Su, 2017. "Poverty's Deconstruction: Beyond the Visible," IZA Discussion Papers 11160, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • O12 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • I32 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Measurement and Analysis of Poverty

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