UN Peacekeeping and Households' Well‐Being in Civil Wars

Abstract

Civil wars affect the economic conditions of households by disrupting economic transactions and harming their psychological well‐being. To restore basic conditions for local economic recovery in conflict‐torn regions, the international community has only a limited number of tools at its disposal. We ask whether UN peacekeeping is one instrument to mitigate the negative effect of conflict on households' economic well‐being. We argue that, by reducing violence and heightening perceptions of safety, UN missions (i) encourage labor provision and economic exchanges, and (ii) instill confidence by reducing the psychological impact of daily stressors. Combining high‐frequency household survey data and information on subnational deployment of UN peacekeepers in South Sudan, we show that peacekeepers' military presence improves security (observed and perceived), which in turn revitalizes local economies and households' subjective well‐being. These improvements ultimately boost households' consumption, partially countering the negative effect of ongoing civil wars by keeping local communities' economy afloat.

What it Takes to Return: Un Peacekeeping and the Safe Return of Displaced People

“…Notably, this result is consistent with research showing how peacekeepers can improve subjective perceptions of safety among locals living in proximity of UN basis(Bove, Di Salvatore and Elia, 2021).…”

“…Against these contrasting anecdotes, research shows that, on average, peacekeepers do improve security. More importantly for our micro-level focus on households' displacement and return, peacekeepers do not only reduce conflict-related insecurities; they can also improve household's perceptions of personal safety (Bove, Di Salvatore and Elia, 2021). This is particularly important for displacement context where perceptions and fears of victimization are fundamental motivations for leaving, and in light of unavoidable reporting bias plaguing media-based conflict data (see Weidmann, 2016).…”

“…When security conditions improve, households have more incentives to resume the economic habits that violence altered. For example, households may have more access to markets or they feel safe enough to participate in the labor market and return to work when peacekeepers are deployed close-by (Bove, Di Salvatore and Elia, 2021). 11 This is a necessary condition for a functioning economy as lack of safety depresses economies and reduces incentives for economic exchanges because of the unpredictability and uncertainty of future returns.…”

“…In fact, often peacekeeping missions start at the same time as development assistance programs. Finally, improved security conditions translate into a stimulus to local economic activities, particularly when the presence of the mission improves subjective perceptions of safety among households (Caruso et al, 2017;Bove, Di Salvatore and Elia, 2021). In sum, these improvements may facilitate returns as peacekeepers remove insecurity triggers and restore normalcy.…”

Can peace operations mitigate the effect of armed conflict on malnutrition? Evidence from Côte d’Ivoire

“…Walter et al (2021) summarize recent studies of the efficacy of peace operations toward a number of peaceful outcomes. Specific to the outcomes of interest in this paper, a few studies have quantitatively investigated the potential public-health contributions of peace operations (Benson et al, 2020; Bove et al, 2022; Caruso et al, 2017; Gizelis & Cao 2019; Lindberg Bromley & von Uexkull, 2021). 10…”