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More Inequality, More Killings: The Maoist Insurgency in Nepal

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  • Mani Nepal
  • Alok K. Bohara
  • Kishore Gawande

Abstract

The hypothesis of inequality as the source of violent conflict is investigated empirically in the context of killings by Nepalese Maoists in their People's War against their government during 1996–2003. The dependent variable is the total number of people killed during that period by Maoist rebels in each of 3,857 villages. Inequality is measured by the Gini, the Esteban‐Ray polarization index, and four other between‐groups indexes. Using models with district fixed effects, and instrumenting for endogeneity of the inequality measures, we find strong evidence that greater inequality escalated killings by Maoists. Poverty did not necessarily increase violence. Education moderated the effect of inequality on killing, while predominance of farmers and of Nepali speakers exacerbated it. We find evidence that more killings occurred in populous villages, lending support to the idea that violence was directed at expanding the Maoist franchise by demonstrating that opposition to the monarchy and elites in power was possible to achieve.

Suggested Citation

  • Mani Nepal & Alok K. Bohara & Kishore Gawande, 2011. "More Inequality, More Killings: The Maoist Insurgency in Nepal," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 55(4), pages 886-906, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:amposc:v:55:y:2011:i:4:p:886-906
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1540-5907.2011.00529.x
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    Cited by:

    1. Marius Mehrl, 2023. "Female combatants and rebel group behaviour: Evidence from Nepal," Conflict Management and Peace Science, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 40(3), pages 260-280, May.
    2. Prabath Nishantha Edirisinghe, "undated". "Are All Shifting Cultivators poor? Evidence from Sri Lanka's Dry zones," Working papers 113, The South Asian Network for Development and Environmental Economics.
    3. Mitra, Anirban & Mitra, Shabana, 2020. "Redistribution of Economic Resources due to Conflict: The Maoist Uprising in Nepal," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(3), pages 578-604.
    4. Clément, Matthieu & Piaser, Lucie, 2021. "Do inequalities predict fear of crime? Empirical evidence from Mexico," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    5. Kazeem B. Ajide & Olorunfemi Y. Alimi, 2021. "Income inequality, human capital and terrorism in Africa: Beyond exploratory analytics," International Economics, CEPII research center, issue 165, pages 218-240.
    6. Ma, Lin & Ruzic, Dimitrije, 2020. "Globalization and top income shares," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    7. Daniel Karell & Sebastian Schutte, 2018. "Aid, exclusion, and the local dynamics of insurgency in Afghanistan," Journal of Peace Research, Peace Research Institute Oslo, vol. 55(6), pages 711-725, November.
    8. Kotchikpa Gabriel Lawin & Lota Tamini, 2018. "Droits de propriété foncière et performance des petits producteurs agricoles des pays en développement : une synthèse de la littérature empirique," CIRANO Working Papers 2018s-05, CIRANO.
    9. Nepal, Apsara Karki & Halla, Martin & Stillman, Steven, 2018. "Violent Conflict and the Child Quantity-Quality Tradeoff," IZA Discussion Papers 11690, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    10. Yörük, Erdem & Öker, İbrahim & Şarlak, Lara, 2019. "Indigenous unrest and the contentious politics of social assistance in Mexico," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 1-1.
    11. Timothy Allen Carter & Daniel Jay Veale, 2013. "Weather, terrain and warfare: Coalition fatalities in Afghanistan," Conflict Management and Peace Science, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 30(3), pages 220-239, July.
    12. Phadera, Lokendra, 2021. "Unfortunate Moms and Unfortunate Children: Impact of the Nepali Civil War on Women's Stature and Intergenerational Health," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    13. Kishore Gawande & Devesh Kapur & Shanker Satyanath, 2017. "Renewable Natural Resource Shocks and Conflict Intensity," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 61(1), pages 140-172, January.
    14. Sharma, Hari & Gibson, John, 2020. "Escalation of civil war in Nepal: The role of poverty, inequality and caste polarisation," MPRA Paper 101450, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    15. Clément, Matthieu & Levasseur, Pierre & Seetahul, Suneha & Piaser, Lucie, 2021. "Does inequality have a silver lining? Municipal income inequality and obesity in Mexico," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 272(C).
    16. Millimet, Daniel L. & Parmeter, Christopher F., 2022. "Accounting for Skewed or One-Sided Measurement Error in the Dependent Variable," Political Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 30(1), pages 66-88, January.
    17. Apsara KARKI NEPAL & Mani NEPAL & Randall BLUFFSTONE, 2023. "International labour migration, farmland fallowing, livelihood diversification and technology adoption in Nepal," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 162(4), pages 687-713, December.
    18. Solveig Hillesund & Gudrun Østby, 2023. "Horizontal inequalities, political violence, and nonviolent conflict mobilization: A review of the literature," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(5), pages 1589-1635, December.
    19. Nepal, Mani & Bohara, Alok K, 2015. "Consumption insurance under uncertainty: The case of Nepal during Maoist insurgency," International Journal of Development and Conflict, Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, vol. 5(1), pages 1-31.
    20. François Libois, 2016. "Households in Times of War : Adaptation Strategies during the Nepal Civil War," Working Papers 1603, University of Namur, Department of Economics.
    21. Karell, Daniel & Schutte, Sebastian, 2018. "Aid, Exclusion, and the Local Dynamics of Insurgency in Afghanistan," SocArXiv 6ea2r, Center for Open Science.
    22. Devash Kapur, Kishore Gawande, Shanker Satyanath, 2012. "Renewable Resource Shocks and Conflict in India’s Maoist Belt," Working Papers 302, Center for Global Development.
    23. Acharya, Yubraj, 2018. "The impact of vitamin A supplementation in childhood on adult outcomes: An exploration of mechanisms, timing of exposure, and heterogeneous effects," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 201(C), pages 95-102.
    24. Alexander De Juan & Jan Henryk Pierskalla, 2016. "Civil war violence and political trust: Microlevel evidence from Nepal," Conflict Management and Peace Science, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 33(1), pages 67-88, February.
    25. Jin Mun Jeong, 2020. "Economic sanctions and income inequality: impacts of trade restrictions and foreign aid suspension on target countries," Conflict Management and Peace Science, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 37(6), pages 674-693, November.

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