IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/ebl/ecbull/eb-22-00126.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Civil conflict and food security in sub-Saharan Africa: the role of the democracy

Author

Listed:
  • Cyrille Dominick Bitting

    (University of Bertoua)

  • Magloire Georges Sémé

    (University of Yaoundé 2)

  • Henri Ngoa Tabi

    (University of Yaoundé 2)

Abstract

The main objective of this study is to analyse the role of democracy in the relationship between civil conflict and food security in sub-Saharan Africa. The empirical analyses cover a sample of 30 sub-Saharan African countries over the years 2002-2017. To address endogeneity issues in the relationship between civil conflict and food security problem, the study uses a dynamic model based on a sequential linear panel data estimator and system Generalized Method of Moments. The main results obtained from econometrics analyses show that civil conflict has a significant negative influence on food security in sub-Saharan Africa. As regards the role of democracy, the results show that democracy breaks the negative influence of civil conflict on food security. Otherwise, the results also show that GDP per capita, readiness and arable land positively affect food security, while total population has a negative effect on it in sub-Saharan Africa.

Suggested Citation

  • Cyrille Dominick Bitting & Magloire Georges Sémé & Henri Ngoa Tabi, 2025. "Civil conflict and food security in sub-Saharan Africa: the role of the democracy," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 45(2), pages 678-695.
    • Handle: RePEc:ebl:ecbull:eb-22-00126
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.accessecon.com/Pubs/EB/2025/Volume45/EB-25-V45-I2-P60.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Arellano, Manuel & Bover, Olympia, 1995. "Another look at the instrumental variable estimation of error-components models," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 68(1), pages 29-51, July.
    2. Ore Koren & Benjamin E. Bagozzi, 2016. "From global to local, food insecurity is associated with contemporary armed conflicts," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 8(5), pages 999-1010, October.
    3. Sebastian Kripfganz & Claudia Schwarz, 2019. "Estimation of linear dynamic panel data models with time‐invariant regressors," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 34(4), pages 526-546, June.
    4. Adong, Annet & Kornher, Lukas & Kiptoo Kirui, Oliver & von Braun, Joachim, 2021. "Conflict exposure and food consumption pathways during and after conflict: Evidence from Northern Uganda," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 147(C).
    5. Teodosijevic, Slobodanka B., "undated". "Armed conflicts and food security," ESA Working Papers 289088, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Agricultural Development Economics Division (ESA).
    6. Donna Mitchell & Darren Hudson & Riley Post & Patrick Bell & Ryan B. Williams, 2015. "Food Security and Conflict," Frontiers of Economics and Globalization, in: Food Security in an Uncertain World, volume 15, pages 211-225, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    7. Tom Bundervoet & Philip Verwimp & Richard Akresh, 2009. "Health and Civil War in Rural Burundi," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 44(2).
    8. 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.
    9. Foureaux Koppensteiner, Martin & Manacorda, Marco, 2016. "Violence and birth outcomes: Evidence from homicides in Brazil," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 16-33.
    10. Valente, C, 2011. "Children of the Revolution: Fetal and Child Health amidst Violent Civil Conflict," Health, Econometrics and Data Group (HEDG) Working Papers 11/12, HEDG, c/o Department of Economics, University of York.
    11. Blundell, Richard & Bond, Stephen, 1998. "Initial conditions and moment restrictions in dynamic panel data models," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 87(1), pages 115-143, August.
    12. Mansour, Hani & Rees, Daniel I., 2012. "Armed conflict and birth weight: Evidence from the al-Aqsa Intifada," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(1), pages 190-199.
    13. Macartan Humphreys & Jeremy M. Weinstein, 2008. "Who Fights? The Determinants of Participation in Civil War," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 52(2), pages 436-455, April.
    14. Gabriela Guerrero-Serdán, 2009. "The Effects of the War in Iraq on Nutrition and Health: An Analysis Using Anthropometric Outcomes of Children," Royal Holloway, University of London: Discussion Papers in Economics 09/01, Department of Economics, Royal Holloway University of London.
    15. A. A. Kilishi & H. I. Mobolaji & M. A. Yaru & A. T. Yakubu, 2013. "Institutions and Economic Performance in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Dynamic Panel Data Analysis," Journal of African Development, African Finance and Economic Association (AFEA), vol. 15(2), pages 91-120.
    16. Brück, Tilman & d'Errico, Marco, 2019. "Food security and violent conflict: Introduction to the special issue," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 167-171.
    17. Pauline Grosjean, 2014. "Conflict and Social and Political Preferences: Evidence from World War II and Civil Conflict in 35 European Countries," Comparative Economic Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Association for Comparative Economic Studies, vol. 56(3), pages 424-451, September.
    18. Slobodanka B. Teodosijevic, 2003. "Armed Conflicts and Food Security," Working Papers 03-11, Agricultural and Development Economics Division of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO - ESA).
    19. David Roodman, 2009. "A Note on the Theme of Too Many Instruments," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 71(1), pages 135-158, February.
    20. Shawn Davies & Therése Pettersson & Magnus Öberg, 2022. "Organized violence 1989–2021 and drone warfare," Journal of Peace Research, Peace Research Institute Oslo, vol. 59(4), pages 593-610, July.
    21. Marion Mercier & Rama Lionel Ngenzebuke & Philip Verwimp, 2016. "Violence Exposure and Welfare over Time: Evidence from the Burundi Civil War," Working Papers ECARES ECARES 2015-32, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    22. Jean-Pierre Tranchant & Patricia Justino & Cath�rine M�ller, 2014. "Political Violence, Drought and Child Malnutrition: Empirical Evidence from Andhra Pradesh, India," HiCN Working Papers 173, Households in Conflict Network.
    23. Daron Acemoglu & Francisco A. Gallego & James A. Robinson, 2014. "Institutions, Human Capital, and Development ," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 6(1), pages 875-912, August.
    24. Muhammad Nasir, 2016. "Violence and Child Health Outcomes: Evidence from Mexican Drug War," HiCN Working Papers 208, Households in Conflict Network.
    25. Minoiu, Camelia & Shemyakina, Olga N., 2014. "Armed conflict, household victimization, and child health in Côte d'Ivoire," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 237-255.
    26. Reshmita Nath & Yibo Luan & Wangming Yang & Chen Yang & Wen Chen & Qian Li & Xuefeng Cui, 2015. "Changes in Arable Land Demand for Food in India and China: A Potential Threat to Food Security," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(5), pages 1-27, April.
    27. Nickell, Stephen J, 1981. "Biases in Dynamic Models with Fixed Effects," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 49(6), pages 1417-1426, November.
    28. Maarten J Voors & Erwin H Bulte, 2014. "Conflict and the evolution of institutions: Unbundling institutions at the local level in Burundi," Journal of Peace Research, Peace Research Institute Oslo, vol. 51(4), pages 455-469, July.
    29. Martin-Shields, Charles P. & Stojetz, Wolfgang, 2019. "Food security and conflict: Empirical challenges and future opportunities for research and policy making on food security and conflict," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 150-164.
    30. Sebastian Kripfganz, 2019. "Generalized method of moments estimation of linear dynamic panel-data models," London Stata Conference 2019 17, Stata Users Group.
    31. Adriana Camacho, 2008. "Stress and Birth Weight: Evidence from Terrorist Attacks," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 98(2), pages 511-515, May.
    32. Daniel Kaufmann & Aart Kraay & Massimo Mastruzzi, 2010. "Response to ‘What do the Worldwide Governance Indicators Measure?’," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 22(1), pages 55-58, February.
    33. Hausman, Jerry A. & Taylor, William E., 1981. "A generalized specification test," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 8(3), pages 239-245.
    34. Augustine Ujunwa & Chinwe Okoyeuzu & Ebere Ume Kalu, 2019. "Armed Conflict and Food Security in West Africa: Socioeconomic Perspective," International Journal of Social Economics, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 46(2), pages 182-198, February.
    35. Marc F. Bellemare, 2015. "Rising Food Prices, Food Price Volatility, and Social Unrest," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 97(1), pages 1-21.
    36. Windmeijer, Frank, 2005. "A finite sample correction for the variance of linear efficient two-step GMM estimators," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 126(1), pages 25-51, May.
    37. Chen, Junyi & Kibriya, Shahriar & Bessler, David & Price, Edwin, 2018. "The relationship between conflict events and commodity prices in Sudan," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 40(4), pages 663-684.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Martin-Shields, Charles P. & Stojetz, Wolfgang, 2019. "Food security and conflict: Empirical challenges and future opportunities for research and policy making on food security and conflict," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 150-164.
    2. Njangang, Henri & Asongu, Simplice A. & Mouchili, Eric, 2024. "Does corruption starve Africa? The mitigating effect of political distribution of power," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 46(1), pages 171-197.
    3. Patricia Justino, 2017. "Food Security, Peacebuilding and Gender Equality: Conceptual Framework and Future Directions," HiCN Working Papers 257, Households in Conflict Network.
    4. Armand Mboutchouang Kountchou & Soazic Elise Wang Sonne & Gadom Djal Gadom, 2019. "The Local Impact of Armed Conflict on Children’s Nutrition and Health Outcomes: Evidence from Chad," HiCN Working Papers 301, Households in Conflict Network.
    5. Henri Njangang & Simplice A. Asongu & Eric Mouchili, 2022. "Does corruption starve? An African perspective," Working Papers of the African Governance and Development Institute. 22/022, African Governance and Development Institute..
    6. Adam Levai & Riccardo Turati, 2021. "The Impact of Immigration on Workers’ Protection," LIDAM Discussion Papers IRES 2021021, Université catholique de Louvain, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES), revised 07 Sep 2021.
    7. Takahiro Tsujimoto & Yoko Kijima, 2020. "Effects of conflict on child health: Evidence from the 1990–1994 Northern Mali Conflict," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(11), pages 1456-1474, November.
    8. Odozi, John Chiwuzulum & Oyelere, Ruth Uwaifo, 2019. "Conflict Exposure and Economic Welfare in Nigeria," GLO Discussion Paper Series 334, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    9. Justin George & Adesoji Adelaja & Dave Weatherspoon, 2020. "Armed Conflicts and Food Insecurity: Evidence from Boko Haram's Attacks," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 102(1), pages 114-131, January.
    10. Levai, Adam & Turati, Riccardo, 2024. "International Immigration and Labor Regulation," IZA Discussion Papers 16929, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    11. Fredah Guantai & Yoko Kijima, 2020. "Ethnic Violence and Birth Outcomes: Evidence From Exposure to the 1992 Conflict in Kenya," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 57(2), pages 423-444, April.
    12. Duque, Valentina, 2019. "Violence and Children’s Education: Evidence from Administrative Data," Working Papers 2019-16, University of Sydney, School of Economics.
    13. Idrissa Ouili, 2017. "Armed Conflicts, Children’s Education and Mortality: New Evidence from Ivory Coast," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 38(2), pages 163-183, June.
    14. Rudolfsen, Ida & Bartusevičius, Henrikas & van Leeuwen, Florian & Østby, Gudrun, 2024. "War and food insecurity in Ukraine," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    15. Henri Njangang & Sosson Tadadjeu & Joseph Keneck-Massil, 2024. "Natural Resources and Undernourishment in Developing Countries? Is There a Curse?," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 87(7), pages 1887-1921, July.
    16. Patricia Justino, 2012. "Nutrition, Governance and Violence: A Framework for the Analysis of Resilience and Vulnerability to Food Insecurity in Contexts of Violent Conflict," HiCN Working Papers 132, Households in Conflict Network.
    17. Zheng, Xinye & Li, Fanghua & Song, Shunfeng & Yu, Yihua, 2013. "Central government's infrastructure investment across Chinese regions: A dynamic spatial panel data approach," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 264-276.
    18. Tadadjeu, Sosson & Njangang, Henri & Asongu, Simplice A. & Kamguia, Brice, 2023. "Natural resources, child mortality and governance quality in African countries," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    19. Roberto DELL'ANNO & Stefania VILLA, 2012. "Growth in Transition Countries: Big Bang versus Gradualism," CELPE Discussion Papers 122, CELPE - CEnter for Labor and Political Economics, University of Salerno, Italy.
    20. Lamar Crombach & Frank Bohn, 2024. "Uninformed voters with (im)precise expectations: Explaining political budget cycle puzzles," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(1), pages 275-311, March.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • Q1 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture
    • D7 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making

    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:ebl:ecbull:eb-22-00126. 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: John P. Conley (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    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.