Are more educated people more likely to engage in terrorism

This study examines the connection between education and terrorism. By using information provided by the police and the army during the various terrorist assaults in the Sahel region and the filtering method, we build a micro data set from 2019 to 2021 from interventions in Burkina Faso, Niger, and Mali. Implementing several models, we find a positive association between education and terrorism which suggests that more educated people are more likely to engage in terrorism. We also find that terrorists are generally active in the labour market. These results are associated with socio-economic and demographic characteristics of the individual and institutional framework, especially attendance to religious school, gender, age, and the presence of law enforcement in the attack place. Furthermore, we provide evidence that unlike ”the old paradigm”, terrorists come more from urban than rural areas and are sensitive to spatial heterogeneity which contributes to reduce their motivation. The negative binomial results confirm that the higher the level of education of the terrorist, the greater the number of victims. Educated terrorists cause the most damage and are the most dangerous. In view of the results, policies are suggested.