Winning Hearts and Minds through Development? Evidence from a Field Experiment in Afghanistan
In areas afflicted by civil conflict, development projects can potentially serve an important counterinsurgency function by redressing grievances of marginalized groups and reducing violence. Using a large-scale randomized field experiment in Afgha...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2012
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2012/07/16495811/winning-hearts-minds-through-development-evidence-field-experiment-afghanistan http://hdl.handle.net/10986/11950 |
| Summary: | In areas afflicted by civil conflict,
development projects can potentially serve an important
counterinsurgency function by redressing grievances of
marginalized groups and reducing violence. Using a
large-scale randomized field experiment in Afghanistan, this
paper explores whether the inclusion of villages in the
country's largest development program alters
perceptions of well-being, attitudes toward government, and
violence in surrounding areas. The results indicate that the
program generally has a positive effect on all three
measures, but has no effects in areas with high levels of
initial violence. These findings demonstrate that
development programs can buttress government support and
limit the onset of insurgencies in relatively secure areas,
but that their effectiveness is more constrained in areas
where insurgents are already active. |
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