An Evaluation of “Does Economic Inequality Breed Political Conflict?” Studies

Lichbach, Mark Irving

doi:10.2307/2010526

Cited by 293 publications

(149 citation statements)

References 68 publications

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“…However, as the survey article by Lichbach (1989) concluded, the empirical results obtained were generally ambiguous, or statistically insignificant.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ethnicity and Conflict: An Empirical Study

Esteban

Mayoral

Ray³

2012

American Economic Review

429

423

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This paper examines the impact of ethnic divisions on conflict. The empirical specification is informed by a theoretical model of conflict (Esteban and Ray, 2011) in which equilibrium conflict intensity is related to just three distributional indices of diversity: ethnic polarization, ethnic fractionalization, and a Greenberg-Gini index of "difference" constructed across ethnic groups. Our empirical findings verify that these distributional measures are significant correlates of conflict. The underlying theory permits us to use these results to make inferences about the relative importance of public goods in conflict, as well as the extent of within-group cohesion in conflictual activity. These effects are further strengthened as we introduce country-specific measures of group cohesion and the relative importance of public goods, and combine them with the distributional measures exactly as specified by the theory.

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“…However, as the survey article by Lichbach (1989) concluded, the empirical results obtained were generally ambiguous, or statistically insignificant.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ethnicity and Conflict: An Empirical Study

Esteban

Mayoral

Ray³

2012

American Economic Review

429

423

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“…4 These contributions, while loosely based on theoretical arguments, are essentially empirically motivated in an attempt to identify a statistical regularity. The preference for 2 See, for instance, Nagel (1974), Muller and Seligson (1987), Brockett (1992) or the survey article by Lichbach (1989). 3 For instance, Horowitz (1985) argues that large cleavages are more germane to the study of conflict, stating that "a centrally focused system [with few groupings] possesses fewer cleavages than a dispersed system, but those it possesses run through the whole society and are of greater magnitude.…”

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confidence: 99%

Linking Conflict to Inequality and Polarization

Esteban

Ray

2011

American Economic Review

333

229

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In this paper we study a behavioral model of conflict that provides a basis for choosing certain indices of dispersion as indicators for conflict. We show that a suitable monotone transform of the equilibrium level of conflict can be proxied by a linear function of the Gini coefficient, the Herfindahl-Hirschman fractionalization index, and a specific measure of polarization due to Esteban and Ray. D31

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“…Early empirical studies by political scientists viewed income or wealth distribution as possible element breeding full-blown conflict (e.g., Nagel, 1974;Muller & Seligson, 1987;Midlarsky, 1988;Muller et al, 1989). However, as the Lichbach's (1989) survey article has shown, the empirical results were for the most part unclear or statistically insignificant (Esteban, Mayoral, & Ray, 2012, p. 1310. There is no a general consensus regarding the economic literature on inequality and conflict.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multidimensional Polarization, Social Classes, and Societal Conflict: Evidence from Medieval Towns

Challier

2016

RES

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The paper focuses on the nature of a population distribution (polarized or not) and its possible influence on societal conflict. Despite theoretical and empirical studies on the link between population's polarization and social conflict, the relationship remains in question. Up to now, the role of a multidimensional polarization has been neglected and the determination of social classes by their roles and functions (and not by their resource level) has been ignored. To extend the research, we first define a multidimensional polarization index and approach it empirically through quantitative and qualitative data (often textual data) over a very long period in accordance with the historiographical method. First, this paper refutes the stereotype of a medieval French urban population polarized between rich and poor. Second, over the same period, we build a database of the intensity and occurrence of societal conflict on a sample of twenty-four French towns. The paper finds that over time the low initial degree of the population's polarization continued to decline while societal violence was increasing. Third, whereas polarization is excluded as a determinant of societal conflict, the inter-group heterogeneity measure (or social distance) highlights some relationships. The results show that societal upheavals may be quite connected with the social distance index defined between the high and middle classes; moreover, this social unrest may be greatly related with the index defined between the high and the low classes. By contrast, the results find an outbreak of societal conflicts when social distances between the middle and low classes decrease.

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An Evaluation of “Does Economic Inequality Breed Political Conflict?” Studies

Cited by 293 publications

References 68 publications

Ethnicity and Conflict: An Empirical Study

Ethnicity and Conflict: An Empirical Study

Linking Conflict to Inequality and Polarization

Multidimensional Polarization, Social Classes, and Societal Conflict: Evidence from Medieval Towns

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