IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/unu/wpaper/wp-2025-67.html

Guns and gains: effects of exposure to counterinsurgency operations during school-age years

Author

Listed:
  • Sourish Mustafi
  • Punarjit Roychowdhury
  • Bharti Nandwani

Abstract

This paper examines the effects of exposure to hard-security counter-insurgency operations during school-age years on human capital and labour market outcomes in India. We exploit the 1989 introduction of the Greyhounds—a specialized commando force created to combat Naxalite insurgents—in Andhra Pradesh (AP), as a natural experiment. Of all the states affected by Naxalite violence, only AP raised such a police force at the time. We compare outcomes of school-age cohorts in AP with older cohorts, and contrast these patterns with those in other affected states.

Suggested Citation

  • Sourish Mustafi & Punarjit Roychowdhury & Bharti Nandwani, 2025. "Guns and gains: effects of exposure to counterinsurgency operations during school-age years," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2025-67, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    • Handle: RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp-2025-67
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.wider.unu.edu/sites/default/files/Publications/Working-paper/PDF/wp2025-67-guns-gains-effects-exposure-counter-insurgency-operations-school-age-years.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Child, Travers Barclay, 2019. "Conflict and counterinsurgency aid: Drawing sectoral distinctions," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    2. Marine de Talancé, 2020. "Private and Public Education: Do Parents Care About School Quality?," Post-Print hal-04261613, HAL.
    3. Kingdon, Geeta, 1996. "The Quality and Efficiency of Private and Public Education: A Case-Study of Urban India," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 58(1), pages 57-82, February.
    4. Douglas Almond & Janet Currie & Valentina Duque, 2018. "Childhood Circumstances and Adult Outcomes: Act II," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 56(4), pages 1360-1446, December.
    5. Hidalgo-Aréstegui, Alessandra & Porter, Catherine & Sánchez, Alan & Singhal, Saurabh, 2025. "The long shadow of conflict on human capital: Intergenerational evidence from Peru," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 174(C).
    6. Nikita Melnikov & Carlos Schmidt-Padilla & Maria Micaela Sviatschi, 2020. "Gangs, Labor Mobility and Development," NBER Working Papers 27832, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. Black, Dan A. & Hsu, Yu-Chieh & Taylor, Lowell J., 2015. "The effect of early-life education on later-life mortality," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 1-9.
    8. Glewwe, P. & Muralidharan, K., 2016. "Improving Education Outcomes in Developing Countries," Handbook of the Economics of Education,, Elsevier.
    9. Bharadwaj, Prashant & Johnsen, Julian V. & Løken, Katrine V., 2014. "Smoking bans, maternal smoking and birth outcomes," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 72-93.
    10. Oster, Emily & Steinberg, Bryce Millett, 2013. "Do IT service centers promote school enrollment? Evidence from India," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 123-135.
    11. Jose Galdo, 2013. "The Long-Run Labor-Market Consequences of Civil War: Evidence from the Shining Path in Peru," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 61(4), pages 789-823.
    12. Philip Verwimp & Patricia Justino & Tilman Brück, 2018. "The Microeconomics of Violent Conflict," HiCN Working Papers 280, Households in Conflict Network.
    13. Andrew Beath & Fotini Christia & Ruben Enikolopov, 2025. "Can Development Programs Counter Insurgencies? Evidence from a Field Experiment in Afghanistan," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 17(3), pages 80-116, July.
    14. Marine de Talancé, 2020. "Private and Public Education: Do Parents Care About School Quality?," Annals of Economics and Statistics, GENES, issue 137, pages 117-144.
    15. Gomes, Joseph Flavian, 2015. "The Political Economy of the Maoist Conflict in India: An Empirical Analysis," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 96-123.
    16. Jonathan Roth, 2022. "Pretest with Caution: Event-Study Estimates after Testing for Parallel Trends," American Economic Review: Insights, American Economic Association, vol. 4(3), pages 305-322, September.
    17. Kaila, Heidi & Singhal, Saurabh & Tuteja, Divya, 2020. "Development programs, security, and violence reduction: Evidence from an insurgency in India," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).
    18. Ghani, Ejaz & Iyer, Lakshmi, 2010. "Conflict and Development—Lessons from South Asia," World Bank - Economic Premise, The World Bank, issue 31, pages 1-8, September.
    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. Joseph B. Ajefu & Daniela Casale, 2025. "Long-Term Effects of Childhood Exposure to War on Domestic Violence," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 37(1), pages 124-151, February.
    2. Mevlude Akbulut-Yuksel & Dozie Okoye & Belgi Turan, 2025. "Stuck in War: The PKK Conflict and Intergenerational Outcomes in Turkiye," Working Papers 1818, Economic Research Forum, revised 20 Dec 2025.
    3. Cygan-Rehm, Kamila & Karbownik, Krzysztof, 2022. "The effects of incentivizing early prenatal care on infant health," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    4. Aline Bütikofer & Deirdre Coy & Orla Doyle & Rita Ginja, 2024. "The Consequences of Miscarriage on Parental Investments," CESifo Working Paper Series 11003, CESifo.
    5. Berlinski, Samuel & Giannola, Michele & Toppeta, Alessandro, 2026. "Effective Families or Effective Schools? Experimental Evidence on Fostering Children’s Numeracy," SOFI Working Papers in Labour Economics 6/2026, Stockholm University, Swedish Institute for Social Research.
    6. Nilsson, J Peter & Linnros, Evelina, 2025. "Prenatal Conditions and Midlife Mental Health: Evidence from an Alcohol Policy Experiment," Working Papers in Economics and Statistics 2/2025, Linnaeus University, School of Business and Economics, Department of Economics and Statistics.
    7. Nandi, Arindam & Haberland, Nicole & Ngo, Thoai D., 2023. "The impact of primary schooling expansion on adult educational attainment, literacy, and health: Evidence from India’s Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    8. Fang, Guanfu & Zhu, Ying, 2022. "Long-term impacts of school nutrition: Evidence from China’s school meal reform," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).
    9. Douglas Kazibwe, 2023. "Violent Conflicts and Educational Outcomes: The LRA Insurgency in Northern Uganda Revisited," HiCN Working Papers 401, Households in Conflict Network.
    10. Pan, Yao, 2020. "Late-life cognition: Do childhood conditions play any role?," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    11. Patricia I. Ritter & Ricardo A. Sanchez, 2023. "The effects of an epidemic on prenatal investments, childhood mortality and health of surviving children," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 36(1), pages 505-544, January.
    12. Oliver Vanden Eynde, 2018. "Targets of Violence: Evidence from India's Naxalite Conflict," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 128(609), pages 887-916, March.
    13. Peter Nilsson & Evelina Linnros, 2026. "Prenatal Conditions and Midlife Mental Health: Evidence from an Alcohol Policy Experiment," RFBerlin Discussion Paper Series 26220, ROCKWOOL Foundation Berlin (RFBerlin).
    14. Sharma, Smriti & Sunder, Naveen, 2025. "Crime and human capital in India," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 196(C).
    15. Caroline Namubiru & Jörg Baten & Alberto Batinti & Joan Costa-i-Font, 2026. "Compulsory Schooling Mitigates Health Inequality: Anthropometric Evidence from Two Centuries of Height Data," CESifo Working Paper Series 12919, CESifo.
    16. Satoshi Shimizutani & Eiji Yamada, 2021. "Long-term Consequences of Civil War in Tajikistan: Schooling and International Migration Outcomes," Keio-IES Discussion Paper Series 2021-014, Institute for Economics Studies, Keio University.
    17. Duque, Valentina, 2019. "Violence and Children’s Education: Evidence from Administrative Data," Working Papers 2019-16, University of Sydney, School of Economics.
    18. Adriana Lleras-Muney & Joseph Price & Dahai Yue, 2020. "The Association Between Educational Attainment and Longevity using Individual Level Data from the 1940 Census," NBER Working Papers 27514, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    19. Kumar, Dushyant & Roy Chowdhury, Prabal, 2022. "Winning hearts and minds in conflict-ridden areas: Development as a signal of benevolence," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 117(C).
    20. Evelina Linnros & J. Peter Nilsson, 2026. "Prenatal Conditions and Midlife Mental Health: Evidence from an Alcohol Policy Experiment," CESifo Working Paper Series 12654, CESifo.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • D74 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Conflict; Conflict Resolution; Alliances; Revolutions
    • F52 - International Economics - - International Relations, National Security, and International Political Economy - - - National Security; Economic Nationalism
    • H56 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - National Security and War
    • O12 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration

    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:unu:wpaper:wp-2025-67. 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: Siméon Rapin (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/widerfi.html .

    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.