Arbeitspapier

Malaria Risk and Civil Violence

Using high-resolution data from Africa over the period 1998-2012, this paper investigates the hypothesis that a higher exposure to malaria increases the incidence of civil violence. The analysis uses panel data at the 1o grid cell level at monthly frequency. The econometric identification exploits exogenous monthly within-grid-cell variation in weather conditions that are particularly suitable for malaria transmission. The analysis compares the effect across cells with different malaria exposure, which affects the resistance and immunity of the population to malaria outbreaks. The results document a robust effect of the occurrence of suitable conditions for malaria on civil violence. The effect is highest in areas with low levels of immunities to malaria. Malaria shocks mostly affect unorganized violence in terms of riots, protests, and confrontations between militias and civilians, rather than geo-strategic violence, and the effect spikes during short, labor-intensive harvesting periods of staple crops that are particularly important for the subsistence of the population. The paper ends with an evaluation of anti-malaria interventions.

Language
Englisch

Bibliographic citation
Series: CESifo Working Paper ; No. 6413

Classification
Wirtschaft
Conflict; Conflict Resolution; Alliances; Revolutions
Demographic Economics: General
Subject
malaria risk
civil violence
weather shocks
immunity
cell-level data
Africa

Event
Geistige Schöpfung
(who)
Cervellati, Matteo
Esposito, Elena
Sunde, Uwe
Valmori, Simona
Event
Veröffentlichung
(who)
Center for Economic Studies and ifo Institute (CESifo)
(where)
Munich
(when)
2017

Handle
Last update
10.03.2025, 11:43 AM CET

Data provider

This object is provided by:
ZBW - Deutsche Zentralbibliothek für Wirtschaftswissenschaften - Leibniz-Informationszentrum Wirtschaft. If you have any questions about the object, please contact the data provider.

Object type

  • Arbeitspapier

Associated

  • Cervellati, Matteo
  • Esposito, Elena
  • Sunde, Uwe
  • Valmori, Simona
  • Center for Economic Studies and ifo Institute (CESifo)

Time of origin

  • 2017

Other Objects (12)