Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/77545 
Year of Publication: 
2011
Series/Report no.: 
Working Paper No. 13
Publisher: 
University of Zurich, Department of Economics, Zurich
Abstract: 
We construct a dynamic theory of civil conflict hinging on inter-ethnic trust and trade. The model economy is inhabitated by two ethnic groups. Inter-ethnic trade requires imperfectly observed bilateral investments and one group has to form beliefs on the average propensity to trade of the other group. Since confict disrupts trade, the onset of a conflict signals that the aggressor has a low propensity to trade. Agents observe the history of conflicts and update their beliefs over time, transmitting them to the next generation. The theory bears a set of testable predictions. First, war is a stochastic process whose frequency depends on the state of endogenous beliefs. Second, the probability of future conflicts increases after each conflict episode. Third, accidental conflicts that do not reflect economic fundamentals can lead to a permanent breakdown of trust, plunging a society into a vicious cycle of recurrent conflicts (a war trap). The incidence of conflict can be reduced by policies abating cultural barriers, fostering inter-ethnic trade and human capital, and shifting beliefs. Coercive peace policies such as peacekeeping forces or externally imposed regime changes have instead no persistent effects.
Subjects: 
beliefs
civil war
conflict
cultural transmission
ethnic fractionalization
human capital investments
learning
matching
peacekeeping
stochastic war
strategic complementarity
trade
JEL: 
D74
D83
O15
Q34
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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