Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/107738 
Year of Publication: 
2014
Series/Report no.: 
Nota di Lavoro No. 98.2014
Publisher: 
Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM), Milano
Abstract: 
This paper analyses the statistical distribution of war size. We find strong support for a Pareto-type distribution (power law) using data from different sources (COW and UCDP) and periods. A power law describesaccurately the size distribution of all wars, but also the distribution of the sample of wars in any given period. The estimated Pareto exponent is always less than 1, indicating that the distribution is heavy-tailed; this means that the war average loss is controlled by the largest conflicts. Furthermore, the study of battle deaths’growth rates reveals a clear decreasing pattern; the growth of deaths declines faster the greater the number of initial deaths.
Subjects: 
War Size Distribution
Battle Feaths
Power Law
Pareto Distribution
JEL: 
D74
F51
N40
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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