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An Economist Looks at Suicide Terrorism

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  • Mark Harrison

Abstract

Suicide terrorism has an economic aspect. The organisation of a suicide mission requires an incentive, a voluntary transaction, and a contract that is enforceable by the parties to it. A terrorist faction that competes for power in a community that is both oppressed and oppressive provides young people with an incentive to invest in an identity that is rendered more valuable by death. Suicide attacks are then the outcome of a voluntary agreement between the faction and the young person to trade life for identity. The institution of the “living martyr†renders the agreement privately enforceable. Thus, suicide terrorism is the outcome of an individual rational choice. There are some implications for counter-measures.

Suggested Citation

  • Mark Harrison, 2006. "An Economist Looks at Suicide Terrorism," World Economics, World Economics, 1 Ivory Square, Plantation Wharf, London, United Kingdom, SW11 3UE, vol. 7(3), pages 1-15, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:wej:wldecn:246
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    File URL: https://www.worldeconomics.com/Journal/Papers/Article.details?ID=246
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    Cited by:

    1. Friedrich Schneider & Tilman Brück & Daniel Meierrieks, 2010. "The Economics of Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism: A Survey (Part I)," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 1049, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    2. Freytag, Andreas & Krüger, Jens J. & Meierrieks, Daniel & Schneider, Friedrich, 2011. "The origins of terrorism: Cross-country estimates of socio-economic determinants of terrorism," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 27(S1), pages 5-16.
    3. Gilles Carbonnier, 2018. "Humanitarian economics," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2018-54, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    4. Beckmann, Klaus, 2007. "Jon Elster und das Zeitinkonsistenz-Problem," Discussion Papers 2007-21, Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg, Chair of Economic Ethics.
    5. Syed Muhammad All-E-Raza Rizvi & Marie-Ange Véganzonès-Varoudakis, 2019. "Economic, social, and institutional determinants of domestic conflict in fragile States," Working Papers hal-02340977, HAL.
    6. Ismail, Aisha & Amjad, Shehla, 2014. "Determinants of terrorism in Pakistan: An empirical investigation," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 320-331.
    7. Apolte, Thomas, 2017. "I hope I die before I get old: The supply side of the market for suicide bombers," CIW Discussion Papers 1/2017, University of Münster, Center for Interdisciplinary Economics (CIW).
    8. Rizvi, Syed Muhammad All-e-Raza & Véganzonès-Varoudakis, Marie-Ange, 2023. "Institutional determinants of internal conflicts in fragile developing countries," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 45(5), pages 910-934.
    9. Gilles Carbonnier, 2018. "Humanitarian economics," WIDER Working Paper Series 54, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    10. Andrew Greenland & Damon Proulx & David A Savage, 2020. "Dying for the cause: The rationality of martyrs, suicide bombers and self-immolators," Rationality and Society, , vol. 32(1), pages 93-115, February.
    11. Harrison, Mark, 2013. "The Economics of Coercion and Conflict: an Introduction," CAGE Online Working Paper Series 151, Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE).

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