In this paper, we study how between-group wealth and size heterogeneity affect success probabilities as well as aggregate rent-seeking efforts when two groups compete for the allocation of a pure public good. Unlike with previous models, we measure the utility cost of rent-seeking in terms of...

This article contributes to the literature on the impact of transitional justice measures using microfoundational evidence from experiments. We argue that there is a distributional dilemma at the heart of transitional justice programs, given that the State must allocate goods and services both...

Spanish Abstract: En este documento se estudian las relaciones causales entre conflicto armado, disuasión del crimen y violencia homicida. Se emplean datos de corte transversal a nivel municipal que comprenden el periodo del 2000 al 2014. El estudio utiliza una muestra que contiene aquellos...

The main objective of this paper is to provide empirical evidence on the mechanisms that shape the relationship between violent conflict and collective action. Conflict dynamics in Colombia allow us to exploit rich variation in armed group presence and individual participation in local...

Spanish Abstract: Este artículo estudia los legados de las instituciones creadas en tiempos de guerra, medidas como rebelocracia, sobre la capacidad de los hogares para mitigar choques negativos de ingresos. La rebelocracia es el orden social establecido por los actores armados no estatales...

Traditional theories of democracy suggest that political representation of excluded groups can reduce their incentives to engage in conflict. We consider the response of elites whose power is threatened by new political actors and study the consequences of political inclusion in a context of...

This article highlights a nefarious effect of elections during civil wars by demonstrating that they can facilitate the displacement of civilians. This occurs through two main mechanisms: they reveal information about civilians' loyalties directly to armed groups; and they threaten the status...

This paper studies the effect of strengthening democracy, as captured by an increase in voting rights, on the incidence of violent civil conflict in nineteenth-century Colombia. Empirically studying the relationship between democracy and conflict is challenging, not only because of conceptual...

Spanish Abstract: En Colombia el conflicto armado generó múltiples tensiones políticas que llevaron a que los ciudadanos de las regiones más golpeadas por el conflicto participaran menos en las elecciones. El Acuerdo de paz con las FARC, firmado en 2016, ha generado cambios que podrían...

Free media may not favor political accountability when other democratic institutions are weak, and may even bring undesirable unintended consequences. We propose a simple model in which candidates running for office may engage in coercion to obtain votes. A media scandal exposing these...