IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/deveco/v147y2020ics0304387820301024.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The legacy effect of unexploded bombs on educational attainment in Laos

Author

Listed:
  • Guo, Shiqi

Abstract

Between 1964 and 1973, the U.S. dropped two million tons of bombs on Laos. As the legacy of war, unexploded ordnance (UXO) contaminates a quarter of villages. This paper studies the long-term impact of UXO on education, exploiting the instrumental variable that originates from the geography of U.S. bombing campaigns in Laos. It finds that bombing not only interrupts the education of wartime cohorts, but also has strong and persistent negative impacts on the education of postwar cohorts through the legacy of UXO. Two decades after the U.S. bombing ended, school-age children with exposure to the average level of UXO contamination still had 1.3 fewer years of education. I rule out other mechanisms and show that with UXO in farmland, villagers farm more carefully and slowly. This reduction in farming efficiency demands more labor to sustain subsistence farming. In response, children drop out of school to supplement agricultural labor.

Suggested Citation

  • Guo, Shiqi, 2020. "The legacy effect of unexploded bombs on educational attainment in Laos," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 147(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:deveco:v:147:y:2020:i:c:s0304387820301024
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2020.102527
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304387820301024
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jdeveco.2020.102527?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Damian Clarke & Benjamín Matta, 2018. "Practical considerations for questionable IVs," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 18(3), pages 663-691, September.
    2. Islam, Asadul & Ouch, Chandarany & Smyth, Russell & Wang, Liang Choon, 2016. "The long-term effects of civil conflicts on education, earnings, and fertility: Evidence from Cambodia," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(3), pages 800-820.
    3. Akresh, Richard & de Walque, Damien, 2008. "Armed Conflict and Schooling: Evidence from the 1994 Rwandan Genocide," IZA Discussion Papers 3516, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Bertoni, Eleonora & Di Maio, Michele & Molini, Vasco & Nisticò, Roberto, 2019. "Education is forbidden: The effect of the Boko Haram conflict on education in North-East Nigeria," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    5. Timothy G. Conley & Christian B. Hansen & Peter E. Rossi, 2012. "Plausibly Exogenous," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 94(1), pages 260-272, February.
    6. Mevlude Akbulut-Yuksel, 2014. "Children of War: The Long-Run Effects of Large-Scale Physical Destruction and Warfare on Children," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 49(3), pages 634-662.
    7. Andrew L. Dabalen & Saumik Paul, 2014. "Estimating the Effects of Conflict on Education in Côte d'Ivoire," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(12), pages 1631-1646, December.
    8. Miguel, Edward & Roland, Gérard, 2011. "The long-run impact of bombing Vietnam," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 96(1), pages 1-15, September.
    9. Ouarda Merrouche, 2011. "The Long Term Educational Cost of War: Evidence from Landmine Contamination in Cambodia," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(3), pages 399-416.
    10. Gianmarco León, 2012. "Civil Conflict and Human Capital Accumulation: The Long-term Effects of Political Violence in Perú," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 47(4), pages 991-1022.
    11. World Bank, 2007. "Lao PDR Environment Monitor," World Bank Publications - Reports 33929, The World Bank Group.
    12. Swee, Eik Leong, 2015. "On war intensity and schooling attainment: The case of Bosnia and Herzegovina," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 40(PA), pages 158-172.
    13. Eleonora Patacchini & Yves Zenou, 2011. "Neighborhood Effects And Parental Involvement In The Intergenerational Transmission Of Education," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(5), pages 987-1013, December.
    14. Akresh, Richard & de Walque, Damien, 2008. "Armed Conflict and Schooling: Evidence from the 1994 Rwandan Genocide," IZA Discussion Papers 3516, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    15. Maarten J. Voors & Eleonora E. M. Nillesen & Philip Verwimp & Erwin H. Bulte & Robert Lensink & Daan P. Van Soest, 2012. "Violent Conflict and Behavior: A Field Experiment in Burundi," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 102(2), pages 941-964, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Nguyen, Cuong & Tran, Tuyen & Vu, Huong, 2021. "The Long-Term Effects of War on Foreign Direct Investment and Economic Development: Evidence from Vietnam," MPRA Paper 111891, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Le, Duong Trung & Pham, Thanh Minh & Polachek, Solomon, 2022. "The long-term health impact of Agent Orange: Evidence from the Vietnam War," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    3. Thanh P. Bui & Katsushi S. Imai, 2024. "Are there any Long-lasting Human-Capital Effects from Exposure to the United States' Herbicide Bombings over Generations? Evidence from the Vietnam War," Discussion Paper Series DP2024-06, Research Institute for Economics & Business Administration, Kobe University.
    4. Lu, Wei & Yang, Po & Zheng, Shilin & Zhou, Sen, 2023. "Natural disasters and high-stakes exam performance: Evidence from the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    5. Thanh P. Bui & Katsushi S. Imai, 2024. "Are There Any Long-Lasting Human-Capital Effects from Exposure to the United States' Herbicide Bombings over Generations? Evidence from the Vietnam War," Economics Discussion Paper Series 2401, Economics, The University of Manchester.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. 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.
    2. Bertoni, Eleonora & Di Maio, Michele & Molini, Vasco & Nisticò, Roberto, 2019. "Education is forbidden: The effect of the Boko Haram conflict on education in North-East Nigeria," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    3. Odozi, John Chiwuzulum & Oyelere, Ruth Uwaifo, 2019. "Conflict Exposure and Economic Welfare in Nigeria," GLO Discussion Paper Series 334, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    4. Yamada, Hiroyuki & Matsushima, Midori, 2020. "Impacts of long-lasting civil conflicts on education: Evidence from the 2014 Census of Myanmar," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    5. Iva Trako, 2018. "Returning Home After Conflict Displacement: Labor Supply and Schooling Outcomes Among Kosovar Households," Working Papers halshs-01828477, HAL.
    6. Hönig, Tillman, 2017. "The Impact of Peace: Evidence from Nigeria," MPRA Paper 83302, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. Iva Trako, 2018. "Returning Home After Conflict Displacement: Labor Supply and Schooling Outcomes Among Kosovar Households," PSE Working Papers halshs-01828477, HAL.
    8. Richard Akresh, 2016. "Climate Change, Conflict, and Children," HiCN Working Papers 221, Households in Conflict Network.
    9. Alacevich, Caterina & Zejcirovic, Dijana, 2020. "Does violence against civilians depress voter turnout? Evidence from Bosnia and Herzegovina," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(4), pages 841-865.
    10. Hector Galindo-Silva & Guy Tchuente, 2023. "Armed Conflict and Early Human Capital Accumulation: Evidence from Cameroon's Anglophone Conflict," Papers 2306.13070, arXiv.org.
    11. Massimiliano Bratti & Mariapia Mendola & Alfonso Miranda, 2015. "Hard to Forget: the Long-Lasting Impact of War on Mental Health," Development Working Papers 388, Centro Studi Luca d'Agliano, University of Milano.
    12. Mercier, Marion & Ngenzebuke, Rama Lionel & Verwimp, Philip, 2020. "Violence exposure and poverty: Evidence from the Burundi civil war," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(4), pages 822-840.
    13. Islam, Asadul & Ouch, Chandarany & Smyth, Russell & Wang, Liang Choon, 2016. "The long-term effects of civil conflicts on education, earnings, and fertility: Evidence from Cambodia," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(3), pages 800-820.
    14. Chiwuzulum Odozi, John & Uwaifo Oyelere, Ruth, 2019. "Violent Conflict Exposure in Nigeria and Economic Welfare," IZA Discussion Papers 12570, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    15. Tillman Hönig, 2019. "The Impact of Peace: Evidence from Nigeria," HiCN Working Papers 293, Households in Conflict Network.
    16. Awaworyi Churchill, Sefa & Munyanyi, Musharavati Ephraim & Smyth, Russell & Trinh, Trong-Anh, 2021. "Early life shocks and entrepreneurship: Evidence from the Vietnam War," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 506-518.
    17. Swee, Eik Leong, 2015. "On war intensity and schooling attainment: The case of Bosnia and Herzegovina," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 40(PA), pages 158-172.
    18. Utsumi, Yuji, 2022. "Armed conflict, education access, and community resilience: Evidence from the Afghanistan NRVA Survey 2005 and 2007," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    19. Akresh, Richard & Lucchetti, Leonardo & Thirumurthy, Harsha, 2012. "Wars and child health: Evidence from the Eritrean–Ethiopian conflict," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(2), pages 330-340.
    20. Le, Duong Trung & Pham, Thanh Minh & Polachek, Solomon, 2022. "The long-term health impact of Agent Orange: Evidence from the Vietnam War," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Conflict; Unexploded ordnance; Legacy effect; Education; Human capital; Laos;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General
    • N35 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - Asia including Middle East
    • N45 - Economic History - - Government, War, Law, International Relations, and Regulation - - - Asia including Middle East
    • O12 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:deveco:v:147:y:2020:i:c:s0304387820301024. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/devec .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.