Landmines

Landmines are silent killers, maiming anf killing during conflict as well as long after its termination. This paper is - to the best of our knowledge . thefirst to study the impact of landmines on child health, as well as the impact on household income in Angolaby exploiting geigraphical variations in landmine intensity. We generate exogenous variation in the intensity in lanmine contamination using the distance separating each commune from a ser of rebel headquarters in the highly contentious Planoalto (central highlands) region. As predicted, landmine intensity is found to be a decreasinf function of th distance to the UNITA centre of gravity, an area of both offensive and defensive mining and shifting frontlines. This holds even after controlling for other geographical characteristics and war intensity that migh also directly affect our response variables. Instrumental variables estimates, based on two different household surveys collected in 2000/2001 and the Landmines Impact Survey, indicate that Suspected Hazard Areas have large, dignificant and negative effects in weight-for-age (WAZ) and height-for-age (HAZ), as well as household income. We use these micre estimates in the context of humanitarian mine action, addressing the issu of the benefits, costs and priorities of landmine clearing, but also the implication of landmines in a larger development perspective in times of conflict and beyond.