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Conflict, Educational Attainment and Structural Transformation: La Violencia in Colombia

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  • Leopoldo Fergusson
  • Ana MarÔøΩa IbÔøΩÔøΩez
  • Juan Felipe RiaÔøΩo

Abstract

We examine the long-term impact of violence on educational attainment, with evidence from Colombia's La Violencia. Individuals exposed to violence during, and especially before, their schooling years experience a significant and economically meaningful decrease in years of schooling. This impact has consequences beyond human capital accumulation: exposed cohorts engage in activities with less human capital content. Violence thus influenced aggregate development - particularly the process of structural transformation, in which some sectors gain prominence as income increases. The effects result not so much from the direct destruction of physical infrastructure, but from a effected households' responses to the hardships of conflict.

Suggested Citation

  • Leopoldo Fergusson & Ana MarÔøΩa IbÔøΩÔøΩez & Juan Felipe RiaÔøΩo, 2015. "Conflict, Educational Attainment and Structural Transformation: La Violencia in Colombia," Documentos CEDE 13880, Universidad de los Andes, Facultad de Economía, CEDE.
    • Handle: RePEc:col:000089:013880
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    Cited by:

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    3. Vesco, Paola & Baliki, Ghassan & Brück, Tilman & Döring, Stefan & Eriksson, Anneli & Fjelde, Hanne & Guha-Sapir, Debarati & Hall, Jonathan & Knutsen, Carl Henrik & Leis, Maxine R. & Mueller, Hannes & , 2025. "The impacts of armed conflict on human development: A review of the literature," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 187(C).
    4. Deininger, Klaus & Ali, Daniel Ayalew & Fang, Ming, 2025. "Impact of the Russian invasion on Ukrainian small and medium farmers’ productivity," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 148(C).
    5. Klaus W. Deininger & Daniel Ayalew Ali, 2024. "Using Satellite Imagery and a Farmer Registry to Assess Agricultural Support in Conflict Settings : The Case of the Producer Support Grant Program in Ukraine," Policy Research Working Paper Series 10912, The World Bank.
    6. Montaño-Bardales, Juan Fernando & Palacios, Paola, 2025. "Educational outcomes in times of conflict and post-conflict," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 113(C).
    7. Duque, Valentina, 2019. "Violence and Children’s Education: Evidence from Administrative Data," Working Papers 2019-16, University of Sydney, School of Economics.
    8. Barrado, Beatriz & Fernández-Gutiérrez, Marcos & Gimenez, Gregorio, 2024. "Exposure to drug trafficking and school truancy: Empirical evidence from Costa Rica," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 183(C).
    9. Simon Bilo & Mohamed Ihsan Ajwad & Ebtesam AlAnsari & Lama AlHumaidan & Faleh AlRashidi, 2024. "Estimating Long-Term Impacts of Wartime Schooling Disruptions on Private Returns to Schooling in Kuwait," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 45(1), pages 111-152, March.
    10. Deininger, Klaus W. & Ali, Daniel Ayalew & Nataliia, Kussul & Lemoine, Guido & Shelestov, Andrii & Shumilo, Leonid, 2025. "Using Remotely Sensed Data to Assess War-Induced Damage to Agricultural Cultivation : Evidence from Ukraine," Policy Research Working Paper Series 11221, The World Bank.

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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality
    • D74 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Conflict; Conflict Resolution; Alliances; Revolutions
    • D78 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Positive Analysis of Policy Formulation and Implementation
    • O10 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - General
    • O40 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - General

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