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  3. American Economic Review
  4. June 2014
  5. US Food Aid and Civil Conflict

US Food Aid and Civil Conflict

  • Nathan Nunn
  • Nancy Qian
American Economic Review
vol. 104, no. 6, June 2014
(pp. 1630-66)
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Abstract

We study the effect of U.S. food aid on conflict in recipient countries. Our analysis exploits time variation in food aid shipments due to changes in U.S. wheat production and cross-sectional variation in a country's tendency to receive any U.S. food aid. According to our estimates, an increase in U.S. food aid increases the incidence and duration of civil conflicts, but has no robust effect on inter-state conflicts or the onset of civil conflicts. We also provide suggestive evidence that the effects are most pronounced in countries with a recent history of civil conflict.

Citation

Nunn, Nathan, and Nancy Qian. 2014. "US Food Aid and Civil Conflict." American Economic Review, 104 (6): 1630-66. DOI: 10.1257/aer.104.6.1630

Additional Materials

JEL Classification

  • D74 Conflict; Conflict Resolution; Alliances
  • F35 Foreign Aid
  • O17 Formal and Informal Sectors; Shadow Economy; Institutional Arrangements
  • O19 International Linkages to Development; Role of International Organizations
  • Q11 Agriculture: Aggregate Supply and Demand Analysis; Prices
  • Q18 Agricultural Policy; Food Policy