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The Scars of Civil War: The Long-Term Welfare Effects of the Salvadoran Armed Conflict

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  • Acosta,Pablo Ariel
  • Baez Ramirez,Javier Eduardo
  • Caruso,German Daniel
  • Carcach,Carlos

Abstract

This paper estimates the long-term effects on human capital accumulation and subsequent labormarket outcomes of in utero and early childhood exposure to the civil war in El Salvador (1980-92), the second longestand deadliest civil conflict in Central America. Identification is obtained from spatial and intertemporalvariation in the intensity of the conflict drawn from historical archive data comprising records of humancasualties, disappearances, and refugees. The results show that people born in highly violent areas during the civilwar saw a reduction in their probability of being employed by 6 percentage points, and of getting a high-skilled job by5 percentage points, 20 to 30 years after it happened. The civil war also reduced their education by 0.8 year, as wellas their enrollment and literacy rates. Subgroup analysis indicates that exposed males and indigenous groupsexperienced the largest losses in human capital and had weaker performance in the labor market.

Suggested Citation

  • Acosta,Pablo Ariel & Baez Ramirez,Javier Eduardo & Caruso,German Daniel & Carcach,Carlos, 2020. "The Scars of Civil War: The Long-Term Welfare Effects of the Salvadoran Armed Conflict," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9430, The World Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:9430
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Armed Conflict; Social Cohesion; Educational Sciences; Labor Markets; Rural Labor Markets; Gender and Development;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • I00 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - General - - - General
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth

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