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Fanning The Flames: Rainfall Shocks, Inter-Ethnic Income Inequality, and Conflict Intensification in Mandate Palestine

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  • Panza, Laura
  • Swee, Eik

Abstract

We examine the effect of inter-ethnic income inequality on conflict intensification in Mandate Palestine, using a novel panel dataset comprising district-level characteristics and conflict intensity across 18 districts during 1926-1945. We instrument Jewish-Arab income inequality by combining the annual variation in rainfall shocks with cross-sectional variation in pre-Mandate crop intensity, to extract exogenous changes in inequality between non-agrarian Jews and agrarian Arabs. We find a substantial e ect of inequality on conflict intensification, especially during periods where the relationship between Arabs and Jews were particularly strained. Our estimates are driven by Arab-initiated attacks, reflecting the local average treatment effects of Arab farmers who move from agrarian work to violence in response to adverse rainfall shocks; in other words, economic shocks coupled with existing economic segregation facilitate the transition into violence when opposing groups are economic substitutes. Further investigations suggest that inequality-driven violence was most likely an expression of resentment, rather than the result of opportunity costs or appropriation

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  • Panza, Laura & Swee, Eik, 2022. "Fanning The Flames: Rainfall Shocks, Inter-Ethnic Income Inequality, and Conflict Intensification in Mandate Palestine," CEPR Discussion Papers 14366, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:14366
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    Cited by:

    1. Swee, Eik Leong & Zhan, Haikun & Powdthavee, Nattavudh, 2021. "Do perceptions of economic well-being predict the onset of war and peace?," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    2. David Ubilava, 2023. "Climate, Crops, and Postharvest Conflict," Papers 2311.16370, arXiv.org, revised Jan 2024.
    3. Panza, Laura, 2020. "The impact of ethnic segregation on schooling outcomes in Mandate Palestine," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Inter-ethnic violence; Income inequality; Mandate palestine;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • N45 - Economic History - - Government, War, Law, International Relations, and Regulation - - - Asia including Middle East
    • N35 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - Asia including Middle East
    • D74 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Conflict; Conflict Resolution; Alliances; Revolutions

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