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A Phoenix in Flames ?Portfolio Choice and Violence in Civil War in Rural Burundi

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  • Philip Verwimp
  • Eleonora Nillesen

Abstract

This paper challenges the idea that farmers revert to subsistence farming when confronted with violence from civil war. While there is an emerging macroeconomic consensus that wars are detrimental to development, we find contrasting microeconomic evidence. Using several rounds of (panel) data at the farm and community level, we find that farmers in Burundi who are confronted with civil war violence in their home communities increase export and cash crop growing activities, invest more in public goods and reveal higher levels subjective welfare evaluations. We interpret this in the light of similar recent micro‐level evidence that points to post‐traumatic growth effects after (civil)warfare. Our results are confirmed across specifications as well as in robustness analyses.

Suggested Citation

  • Philip Verwimp & Eleonora Nillesen, 2010. "A Phoenix in Flames ?Portfolio Choice and Violence in Civil War in Rural Burundi," Working Papers ECARES ECARES 2010-015, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    • Handle: RePEc:eca:wpaper:2013/57639
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    Cited by:

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    2. Carlos Bozzoli & Tilman Brueck & Tony Muhumuza, 2016. "Activity Choices Of Internally Displaced Persons And Returnees: Quantitative Survey Evidence From Post-War Northern Uganda," Bulletin of Economic Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 68(4), pages 329-347, October.
    3. Tilman Br�ck & Patricia Justino & Philip Verwimp & Andrew Tedesco & Alexandra Avdeenko, 2013. "Measuring Conflict Exposure in Micro-Level Surveys," HiCN Working Papers 153, Households in Conflict Network.
    4. Arias, María Alejandra & Ibáñez, Ana María & Zambrano, Andrés, 2019. "Agricultural production amid conflict: Separating the effects of conflict into shocks and uncertainty," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 165-184.
    5. Badiuzzaman, Muhammad & Cameron, John & Murshed, S. Mansoob, 2013. "Livelihood Decisions Under the Shadow of Conflict in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh," WIDER Working Paper Series 006, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    6. Brück, Tilman & Justino, Patricia & Verwimp, Philip & Avdeenko, Alexandra, 2010. "Identifying Conflict and Violence in Micro-Level Surveys," IZA Discussion Papers 5067, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. María Alejandra Arias & Ana María Ibáñez & Andrés Zambrano, 2014. "Agricultural Production Amid Conflict: The Effects of Shocks, Uncertainty, and Governance of Non-State Armed Actors," Documentos CEDE 11005, Universidad de los Andes, Facultad de Economía, CEDE.
    8. Ibáñez, Ana María & Muñoz, Juan Carlos & Verwimp, Philip, 2013. "Abandoning Coffee under the Threat of Violence and the Presence of Illicit Crops. Evidence from Colombia," Documentos CEDE Series 161356, Universidad de Los Andes, Economics Department.
    9. Wim Naudé & Henri Bezuidenhout, 2014. "Migrant Remittances Provide Resilience Against Disasters in Africa," Atlantic Economic Journal, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 42(1), pages 79-90, March.
    10. Muhammad Badiuzzaman & John Cameron & Mansoob Murshed, 2013. "Livelihood Decisions Under the Shadow of Conflict in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2013-006, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    11. Ciarli, Tommaso & Kofol, Chiara & Menon, Carlo, 2015. "Business as unusual. An explanation of the increase of private economic activity in high-conflict areas in Afghanistan," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 65015, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    12. Tilman Brück & Wim Naudé & Philip Verwimp, 2013. "Entrepreneurship and Violent Conflict in Developing Countries," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2013-028, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    13. Mohammad, M., 2011. "Incorporating perceptions and experiences of violence into livelihood decision-making," ISS Working Papers - General Series 22622, International Institute of Social Studies of Erasmus University Rotterdam (ISS), The Hague.
    14. Tilman Brück & Patricia Justino & Philip Verwimp & Alexandra Avdeenko & Andrew Tedesco, 2016. "Measuring Violent Conflict in Micro-level Surveys: Current Practices and Methodological Challenges," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 31(1), pages 29-58.
    15. Naudé, Wim & Bezuidenhout, Henri, 2012. "Remittances provide resilience against disasters in Africa," MERIT Working Papers 2012-026, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    16. David B. Audretsch & Paul P. Momtaz & Hanna Motuzenko & Silvio Vismara, 2023. "War and Entrepreneurship: A Synthetic Control Study of the Russia-Ukraine Conflict," CESifo Working Paper Series 10466, CESifo.
    17. Brück, Tilman & Naudé, Wim & Verwimp, Philip, 2013. "Entrepreneurship and Violent Conflict in Developing Countries," WIDER Working Paper Series 028, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).

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