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The Review of Economics and Statistics Vol. 90 No. 2 2008

Rural Windfall or a New Resource Curse? Coca, Income, and Civil Conflict in Colombia

Joshua D. Angrist1; Adriana D. Kugler2,3

1 Moscow Institute of Thermal Technology · 2 Center for Economic and Policy Research · 3 University of Houston

Abstract

We study the consequences of an exogenous upsurge in coca prices and cultivation in Colombia, where most coca leaf is now harvested. This shift generated only modest economic gains in rural areas, primarily in the form of increased self-employment earnings and increased labor supply by teenage boys. The rural areas that saw accelerated coca production subsequently became considerably more violent, while urban areas were affected little. These findings are consistent with the view that the Colombian civil conflict is fueled by the financial opportunities that coca provides and that rent-seeking by combatants limits the economic gains from coca.

DOI
10.1162/rest.90.2.191
Volume
90
Issue
2
Pages
191-215
Language
en
Sources
crossref openalex

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