IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/osf/osfxxx/j5vmh.html

Large-scale agricultural investments, employment opportunities and communal conflict

Author

Listed:
  • De Juan, Alexander
  • Hoffmann, Lisa
  • Lay, Jann

Abstract

We investigate whether and how large-scale agricultural investments (LSAIs) influence the risk of communal conflict. We assess a mechanism that links LSAIs to conflict through interethnic competition over access to plantation employment. Our analyses focus on rural Liberia. We measure communal conflict with joy-of-destruction experiments (JDG). We first investigate associations between access to employment and JDG outcomes---comparing villages that are located below/above a distance threshold at which travel costs to plantations equal daily wages of plantation workers. We find substantively higher levels of destruction in communities with better access to LSAI employment. We then analyze whether participants display more destructive behaviour when members of ethnic minorities interact with members of dominant groups. Contrary to expectations, we find no variation across interethnic experimental constellations. Exploratory descriptive analyses tentatively suggest a link between LSAIs, labor migration and communal conflict.

Suggested Citation

  • De Juan, Alexander & Hoffmann, Lisa & Lay, Jann, 2022. "Large-scale agricultural investments, employment opportunities and communal conflict," OSF Preprints j5vmh, Center for Open Science.
    • Handle: RePEc:osf:osfxxx:j5vmh
    DOI: 10.31219/osf.io/j5vmh
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://osf.io/download/62b5cfa2604ec402c97ae1ca/
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.31219/osf.io/j5vmh?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kleemann, Linda & Thiele, Rainer, 2015. "Rural welfare implications of large-scale land acquisitions in Africa: A theoretical framework," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 269-279.
    2. De Juan, Alexander & Pierskalla, Jan & Schwarz, Elisa, 2020. "Natural disasters, aid distribution, and social conflict – Micro-level evidence from the 2015 earthquake in Nepal," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).
    3. Lorenzo Cotula & Carlos Oya & Emmanuel A. Codjoe & Abdurehman Eid & Mark Kakraba-Ampeh & James Keeley & Admasu Lokaley Kidewa & Melissa Makwarimba & Wondwosen Michago Seide & William Ole Nasha & Richa, 2014. "Testing Claims about Large Land Deals in Africa: Findings from a Multi-Country Study," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(7), pages 903-925, July.
    4. Nolte, Kerstin & Ostermeier, Martin, 2017. "Labour Market Effects of Large-Scale Agricultural Investment: Conceptual Considerations and Estimated Employment Effects," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 430-446.
    5. Klaus Abbink & Benedikt Herrmann, 2011. "The Moral Costs Of Nastiness," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 49(2), pages 631-633, April.
    6. Tim Krieger & Daniel Meierrieks, 2016. "Land Grabbing and Ethnic Conflict," Homo Oeconomicus: Journal of Behavioral and Institutional Economics, Springer, vol. 33(3), pages 243-260, October.
    7. Erwin Bulte & Paul Richards & Maarten Voors, 2018. "Institutions and Agrarian Development," Palgrave Studies in Agricultural Economics and Food Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-3-319-98500-8, June.
    8. Petrick, Martin & Wandel, Jürgen & Karsten, Katharina, 2013. "Rediscovering the Virgin Lands: Agricultural Investment and Rural Livelihoods in a Eurasian Frontier Area," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 164-179.
    9. Prediger, Sebastian & Vollan, Björn & Herrmann, Benedikt, 2014. "Resource scarcity and antisocial behavior," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 1-9.
    10. Ianchovichina, Elena & Estache, Antonio & Foucart, Renaud & Garsous, Grégoire & Yepes, Tito, 2013. "Job Creation through Infrastructure Investment in the Middle East and North Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 209-222.
    11. Ali,Daniel Ayalew & Deininger,Klaus W. & Harris,Charles Anthony Philip & Ali,Daniel Ayalew & Deininger,Klaus W. & Harris,Charles Anthony Philip, 2016. "Large farm establishment, smallholder productivity, labor market participation, and resilience : evidence from Ethiopia," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7576, The World Bank.
    12. Alexander De Juan & Carlo Koos, 2021. "Survey participation effects in conflict research," Journal of Peace Research, Peace Research Institute Oslo, vol. 58(4), pages 623-639, July.
    13. Zizzo, Daniel John, 2003. "Money burning and rank egalitarianism with random dictators," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 81(2), pages 263-266, November.
    14. Dell'Angelo, Jampel & Navas, Grettel & Witteman, Marga & D'Alisa, Giacomo & Scheidel, Arnim & Temper, Leah, 2021. "Commons grabbing and agribusiness: Violence, resistance and social mobilization," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 184(C).
    15. Menusch Khadjavi & Kacana Sipangule & Rainer Thiele, 2021. "Social Capital and Large-Scale Agricultural Investments: An Experimental Investigation [Implications of the presence of large scale commercial farmers on small scale farming in Nigeria: the case of Zimbabwean farmers in Kwara State]," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 131(633), pages 420-449.
    16. Cederman, Lars-Erik & Weidmann, Nils B. & Gleditsch, Kristian Skrede, 2011. "Horizontal Inequalities and Ethnonationalist Civil War: A Global Comparison," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 105(3), pages 478-495, August.
    17. Markus Goldstein & Christopher Udry, 2008. "The Profits of Power: Land Rights and Agricultural Investment in Ghana," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 116(6), pages 981-1022, December.
    18. repec:nas:journl:v:115:y:2018:p:4881-4886 is not listed on IDEAS
    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. repec:osf:osfxxx:j5vmh_v1 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Abdul-Hanan Abdallah & Michael Ayamga & Joseph A. Awuni, 2023. "Impact of land grabbing on food security: evidence from Ghana," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 25(7), pages 6071-6094, July.
    3. Anti, Sebastian, 2021. "Land grabs and labor in Cambodia," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    4. de Juan, Alexander & Geissel, Daniel & Lay, Jann & Lohmann, Rebecca, 2022. "Large-scale land deals and social conflict: Evidence and policy implications," GIGA Working Papers 328, GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies.
    5. De Maria, Marcello & Robinson, Elizabeth J.Z. & Zanello, Giacomo, 2023. "Fair compensation in large-scale land acquisitions: Fair or fail?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    6. Wegayehu Fitawek & Sheryl L. Hendriks, 2021. "Evaluating the Impact of Large-Scale Agricultural Investments on Household Food Security Using an Endogenous Switching Regression Model," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-19, March.
    7. Geschwind, Stephan & Graf Lambsdorff, Johann, 2025. "Does scarcity induce hostility? An experimental investigation of common-pool resources," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 227(C).
    8. Wegenast, Tim & Richetta, Cécile & Krauser, Mario & Leibik, Alexander, 2022. "Grabbed trust? The impact of large-scale land acquisitions on social trust in Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    9. Falcone, Stefano & Rosenberg, Michele, 2025. "Agricultural modernization and redistributive conflict," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 177(C).
    10. García-Gallego, Aurora & Georgantzis, Nikolaos & Ruiz-Martos, María J., 2019. "The Heaven Dictator Game: Costless taking or giving," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    11. Gary Charness & David Masclet & Marie Claire Villeval, 2014. "The Dark Side of Competition for Status," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 60(1), pages 38-55, January.
    12. Castet, Antoine, 2024. "The impact of large-scale land acquisitions on child food insecurity in Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 179(C).
    13. Nanhthavong, Vong & Bieri, Sabin & Nguyen, Anh-Thu & Hett, Cornelia & Epprecht, Michael, 2022. "Proletarianization and gateways to precarization in the context of land-based investments for agricultural commercialization in Lao PDR," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    14. Oladehinde, Gbenga John & Olayiwola, Lasun Mykail & Popoola, Kehinde Olayinka, 2024. "Security of land tenure: A comparative analysis among sub-ethnic groups in rural communities of Oyo State, Nigeria," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).
    15. Li, Puyang & Zhang, Yujia & Turner, B.L. & Li, Wei, 2024. "Chinese sisal estates and smallholder land uses and livelihoods, Kilosa, Central Tanzania," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 177(C).
    16. Deininger, Klaus & Xia, Fang, 2016. "Quantifying Spillover Effects from Large Land-based Investment: The Case of Mozambique," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 227-241.
    17. Khadjavi, Menusch & Sipangule, Kacana & Thiele, Rainer, 2016. "Social capital and large-scale agricultural investments: An experimental investigation in Zambia," Kiel Working Papers 2056, Kiel Institute for the World Economy.
    18. Gangadharan, Lata & Grossman, Philip J. & Vecci, Joe, 2021. "Moving on up: The impact of income mobility on antisocial behaviour," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    19. Abbink, Klaus & Doğan, Gönül, 2019. "How to choose your victim," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 482-496.
    20. Gary Charness & David Masclet & Marie Claire Villeval, 2014. "The Dark Side of Competition for Status (preprint)," Working Papers halshs-01090241, HAL.
    21. Michele Rosenberg & Stefano Falcone, 2022. "Agricultural Modernization and Land Conflict," Working Papers 1314, Barcelona School of Economics.

    More about this item

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    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:osf:osfxxx:j5vmh. 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: OSF (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://osf.io/preprints/ .

    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.