Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0
Author-Name: Sara Balestri
Author-Email: sara.balestri@unicatt.it
Author-Name: Raul Caruso
Author-Email: raul.caruso@unicatt.it
Title: Vulnerability to climate change and communal conflicts: uncovering pathways
Abstract: This research work provides new evidence about the effect of vulnerability to natural hazards on the likelihood of communal violence, by disentangling regional-specific pathways. We focus on Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and Southern/South-Eastern Asia (S-SEA) for the period 1995-2016, being these regions particularly exposed to climate effects and dominantly characterized by rain-fed and climate-sensitive agriculture. Relying on the ND-GAIN Vulnerability Index as multidimensional measure of propensity of human societies to be negatively impacted by climate change, we found robust evidence that greater vulnerability is conducive to a higher risk of communal violence. This result is consistent across the regions, and it remarks the fragility of SSA where levels of vulnerability are higher than those observed in S-SEA, on average. Overall, results suggest that policy efforts aimed at reducing vulnerability to natural hazards are powerful tools not only to make societies more resilient, but also more peaceful.
Classification-JEL: D74, O13, Q54, Q56
Creation-Date: 2021
File-URL: http://dipartimenti.unicatt.it/diseis-wp_2103.pdf
File-Format: Application/PDF
Number: dis2103
Handle: RePEc:dis:wpaper:dis2103