Research projects
Start of main content
The Reach of Radio: defection messaging and armed group behavior
16th National Competition for Economic Research Grants
Labour economics
Senior Researcher : Alex Armand
Research Centre or Institution : Universidad de Navarra. Pamplona.
Abstrac
This project expands the field of research on the political economy of conflict by evaluating the impact of FM radio “Come Home” messages directed at active combatants in the LRA Insurgency (1989-Present) in central Africa. We specifically aim to generate evidence on behavioral dimensions of conflict, while researching this otherwise empirically untested policy. We provide causal evidence of the impact of the program on violence, types of violence, defections, abductions, and how each of these interact with changes in regional economic conditions.
To do so we exploited novel data collected from radio stations that allowed us to model radio coverage corrected for topography. The effect of those broadcasts was measured with an LRA-specific conflict events data set that provides precise descriptions of both major LRA events (such as massacres) and minor events (like sightings). The results of the study show that radio messages have the potential to encourage defections among the rebels and reduce general violence. An increase in a standard deviation in the intensity of messages (approximately 20 minutes of daily messages with full cell coverage) leads to a 2.7% decrease in deaths, a 1% increase in the number of returnees and a decrease 1% in the number of attacks against civilians and clashes with security forces, but it does not have a statistically significant effect on kidnapping rates.
Scientific Production |
|
---|---|
Magazine Articles | 1 |
Communications at national conferences | 2 |
Communications at international conferences | 10 |
- Activities related
- Projects related
- News related
- Publications related
- Thesis related
-
3
Oct
2024
Conference Measuring social and environmental performance. Current and future perspectives Madrid, Thursday, 3 October 2024, 19:00 hours
-
29
Oct
2024
Conference Balancing Tax Compliance and Economic Competitiveness? Challenges and Consequences of Business Taxation in a Global Economy” Madrid, Tuesday, 29 October 2024, 19:00 hours
-
18
Nov
2024
Conference Richer and More Equal: A New History of Wealth in the West Madrid, Lunes 18, de noviembre de 2024, 19:00 horas
- Towards an understanding of parents' expectations of the returns on education in developing countries 2015 Senior Researcher : Alex Armand Research Centre or Institution : Universidad de Navarra. Pamplona.
- The Geography of Ethno-linguistic Diversity and the Provision of Public Goods 2016 Senior Researcher : Joseph Flavian Gomes Research Centre or Institution : Universidad de Navarra. Pamplona.
- Restructured Electricity Markets: Competition and Regulation with Environmental and Development Goals 2017 Senior Researcher : Raúl Bajo Buenestado Research Centre or Institution : Universidad de Navarra. Pamplona.
Indicadores comentados sobre el estado del sistema educativo español. 2024
2024 Indicadores sobre educación- Multigenerational Inequality in Spain Senior Researcher : Andrea Pîzzo Research Centre or Institution : Universidad Carlos III de Madrid.
End of main content