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Can Workfare Programs Moderate Conflict? Evidence from India

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  • Fetzer, Thiemo

    (University of Warwick)

Abstract

Can public interventions persistently reduce conflict? Adverse weather shocks, through their impact on incomes, have been identified as robust drivers of conflict in many contexts. An effective social insurance system moderates the impact of adverse shocks on household incomes, and hence, could attenuate the link between these shocks and conflict. This paper shows that a public employment program in India, by providing an alternative source of income through a guarantee of 100 days of employment at minimum wages, effectively provides insurance. This has an indirect pacifying effect. By weakening the link between productivity shocks and incomes, the program uncouples productivity shocks from conflict, leading persistently lower conflict levels.

Suggested Citation

  • Fetzer, Thiemo, 2019. "Can Workfare Programs Moderate Conflict? Evidence from India," CAGE Online Working Paper Series 436, Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE).
    • Handle: RePEc:cge:wacage:436
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    social insurance; civil conflict; India; NREGA; insurgency JEL Classification: D74; H56; J65; Q34;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D74 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Conflict; Conflict Resolution; Alliances; Revolutions
    • H56 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - National Security and War

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