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Attack Assignments in Terror Organizations and The Productivity of Suicide Bombers

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Author Info
Efraim Benmelech
Claude Berrebi

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Abstract

This paper studies the relation between human capital of suicide bombers and outcomes of their suicide attacks. We argue that human capital is an important factor in the production of terrorism, and that if terrorists behave rationally we should observe that more able suicide bombers are assigned to more important targets. We use a unique data set detailing the biographies of Palestinian suicide bombers, the targets they attack, and the number of people that they kill and injure to validate the theoretical predictions and estimate the returns to human capital in suicide bombing. Our empirical analysis suggests that older and more educated suicide bombers are being assigned by their terror organization to more important targets. We find that more educated and older suicide bombers are less likely to fail in their mission, and are more likely to cause increased casualties when they attack.

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Paper provided by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc in its series NBER Working Papers with number 12910.

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Date of creation: Feb 2007
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Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:12910

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
D23 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Organizational Behavior; Transaction Costs; Property Rights
J2 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor
J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Claude Berrebi & Esteban Klor, 2004. "On Terrorism and Electoral Outcomes: Theory and Evidence from the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict," Working Papers 859, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section.. [Downloadable!]
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  2. Gary S. Becker, 1968. "Crime and Punishment: An Economic Approach," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 76, pages 169. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  3. Claude Berrebi, 2003. "Evidence About the Link Between Education, Poverty and Terrorism Among Palestinians," Working Papers 856, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section.. [Downloadable!]
  4. Kydd, Andrew F. & Walter, Barbara, 2002. "Sabotaging the Peace: The Politics of Extremist Violence," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 56(02), pages 263-296, April. [Downloadable!]
  5. Eli Berman, 2003. "Hamas, Taliban and the Jewish Underground: An Economist's View of Radical Religious Militias," NBER Working Papers 10004, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Eli Berman & David Laitin, 2005. "Hard Targets: Theory and Evidence on Suicide Attacks," NBER Working Papers 11740, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Andrew Kydd & Barbara F. Walter, 2002. "Sabotaging the Peace: The Politics of Extremist Violence," International Organization, MIT Press, vol. 56(2), pages 263-296, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Edward L. Glaeser, 2005. "The Political Economy of Hatred," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 120(1), pages 45-86, January.
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Cited by:
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  1. Matthew A. Hanson, 2007. "The Economics of Roadside Bombs," Working Papers 68, Department of Economics, College of William and Mary. [Downloadable!]
  2. Matthew A. Hanson & Martin B. Schmidt, 2007. "The Impact of Coalition Offensive Operations on the Iraqi Insurgency," Working Papers 56, Department of Economics, College of William and Mary. [Downloadable!]
  3. Eli Berman & David D. Laitin, 2008. "Religion, Terrorism and Public Goods: Testing the Club Model," NBER Working Papers 13725, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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