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Mass Atrocities and their Prevention

Author

Listed:
  • Charles H. Anderton

    (Professor of Economics and Distinguished Professor of Ethics and Society, College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, MA, USA)

  • Jurgen Brauer

    (Emeritus Professor of Economics, Augusta University, Augusta, GA, USA and Visiting Professor of Economics, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand)

Abstract

Counting conservatively, and ignoring physical injuries and mental trauma, data show about 100 million mass atrocity-related deaths since 1900. Occurring in war- and in peacetime, and of enormous scale, severity, and brutality, they are geographically widespread, occur with surprising frequency, and can be long-lasting in their adverse effects on economic and human development, wellbeing, and wealth. As such, they are a major economic concern. This article synthesizes very diverse and widely dispersed theoretical and empirical literatures, addressing two gaps: a “mass atrocities gap” in the economics literature and an “economics gap” in mass atrocities scholarship. Our goals are, first, for noneconomists to learn how economic inquiry contributes to understanding the causes and conduct of mass atrocities and possibly to their mitigation and prevention and, second, to survey and synthesize for economists a broad sweep of literatures to serve as a common platform on which to base further work in this field.

Suggested Citation

  • Charles H. Anderton & Jurgen Brauer, 2019. "Mass Atrocities and their Prevention," HiCN Working Papers 290, Households in Conflict Network.
    • Handle: RePEc:hic:wpaper:290
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Charles Butcher & Benjamin E. Goldsmith & Sascha Nanlohy & Arcot Sowmya & David Muchlinski, 2020. "Introducing the Targeted Mass Killing Data Set for the Study and Forecasting of Mass Atrocities," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 64(7-8), pages 1524-1547, August.
    2. Harff, Barbara, 2003. "No Lessons Learned from the Holocaust? Assessing Risks of Genocide and Political Mass Murder since 1955," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 97(1), pages 57-73, February.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. J. Paul Dunne, 2017. "War, peace, and development," Economics of Peace and Security Journal, EPS Publishing, vol. 12(2), pages 21-31, October.
    2. Siwan Anderson & Patrick Francois & Dominic Rohner & Rogerio Santarrosa, 2022. "Hidden hostility: donor attention and political violence," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2022-147, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    3. Charles Anderton, 2015. "Genocide: Perspectives from the Social Sciences," Working Papers 1508, College of the Holy Cross, Department of Economics.
    4. Charles H. Anderton & Jurgen Brauer, 2018. "The Onset, Spread, and Prevention of Mass Atrocities: Perspectives from Network Models," HiCN Working Papers 284, Households in Conflict Network.
    5. Sergei Guriev & Daniel Treisman, 2019. "Informational Autocrats," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 33(4), pages 100-127, Fall.
    6. Patrick Premand & Dominic Rohner, 2024. "Cash and Conflict: Large-Scale Experimental Evidence from Niger," American Economic Review: Insights, American Economic Association, vol. 6(1), pages 137-153, March.
    7. Rusch, Hannes, 2023. "The logic of human intergroup conflict:," Research Memorandum 014, Maastricht University, Graduate School of Business and Economics (GSBE).
    8. Lax-Martinez, Gema & Rohner, Dominic & Saia, Alessandro, 2022. "Threat of taxation, stagnation and social unrest: Evidence from 19th century sicily," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 202(C), pages 361-371.
    9. Dominic Rohner, 2022. "Conflict, Civil Wars and Human Development," Cahiers de Recherches Economiques du Département d'économie 22.08, Université de Lausanne, Faculté des HEC, Département d’économie.
    10. Charles H. Anderton, 2015. "The social evolution of genocide across time and geographic space: Perspectives from evolutionary game theory," Economics of Peace and Security Journal, EPS Publishing, vol. 10(2), pages 5-20, October.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • B55 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Current Heterodox Approaches - - - Social Economics
    • D71 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Social Choice; Clubs; Committees; Associations
    • D74 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Conflict; Conflict Resolution; Alliances; Revolutions
    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making
    • F55 - International Economics - - International Relations, National Security, and International Political Economy - - - International Institutional Arrangements
    • H56 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - National Security and War
    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • K38 - Law and Economics - - Other Substantive Areas of Law - - - Human Rights Law; Gender Law; Animal Rights Law
    • P16 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Capitalist Economies - - - Capitalist Institutions; Welfare State

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