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Violent conflict and the child quantity–quality tradeoff

Author

Listed:
  • Apsara KARKI NEPAL

    (CIMMYT, Lalitpur, Nepal)

  • Martin HALLA

    (Vienna University of Economics and Business)

  • Steve STILLMAN

    (Department of Economics and Management, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano)

Abstract

We show that the exposure to war-related violence increases the quantity of children temporarily, with permanent negative consequences for the quality of the current and previous cohorts. Our empirical evidence is based on Nepal, which experienced a 10 year long civil conflict of varying intensity. We exploit that villages affected by the conflict had the same trend in fertility as non-affected villages prior to the onset of conflict and employ a difference-in-differences estimator. We find that women in affected villages increased their fertility during the conflict by 19%, while child height-for-age declined by 10%. Supporting evidence suggests that the temporary fertility increase was the main pathway leading to reduced child height, as opposed to direct impacts of the conflict.

Suggested Citation

  • Apsara KARKI NEPAL & Martin HALLA & Steve STILLMAN, 2025. "Violent conflict and the child quantity–quality tradeoff," JODE - Journal of Demographic Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 91(3), pages 343-377, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:ctl:louvde:v:91:y:2025:i:3:p:343-377
    DOI: 10.1017/dem.2023.28
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    Cited by:

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    2. Apsara KARKI NEPAL & Mani NEPAL & Randall BLUFFSTONE, 2023. "International labour migration, farmland fallowing, livelihood diversification and technology adoption in Nepal," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 162(4), pages 687-713, December.
    3. Samia Ferhat & Rozenn Hotte & Philip Verwimp, 2022. "Entry into Marriage, Motherhood and the Arab Spring: Evidence from Egypt," Working Papers ECARES 2022-16, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    4. Ella Sargsyan, 2022. "Violent Conflicts and Child Gender Preferences of Parents: Evidence from Nigeria," CERGE-EI Working Papers wp723, The Center for Economic Research and Graduate Education - Economics Institute, Prague.
    5. Manda Tiwari, 2023. "Financial incentives and delivery care: Evidence from the Safe Delivery Incentive Program in Nepal," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(10), pages 2372-2389, October.
    6. Phadera, Lokendra, 2021. "Unfortunate Moms and Unfortunate Children: Impact of the Nepali Civil War on Women's Stature and Intergenerational Health," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    7. Orsola Torrisi, 2020. "Armed Conflict and the Timing of Childbearing in Azerbaijan," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 46(3), pages 501-556, September.

    More about this item

    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • D74 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Conflict; Conflict Resolution; Alliances; Revolutions
    • H56 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - National Security and War
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • O10 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - General

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