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The long shadow of conflict on human capital: Intergenerational evidence from Peru

Research output: Contribution to Journal/MagazineJournal articlepeer-review

E-pub ahead of print
Article number103468
<mark>Journal publication date</mark>31/05/2025
<mark>Journal</mark>Journal of Development Economics
Volume174
Publication StatusE-pub ahead of print
Early online date22/02/25
<mark>Original language</mark>English

Abstract

This paper estimates the intergenerational impacts of mothers’ exposure to the 1980–2000 Peruvian civil conflict on their children’s socio-emotional skills development. We combine longitudinal data, which measures skills across a child’s life, with historical geo-located conflict data. Exploiting spatial and temporal variation in conflict episodes, we find that mothers’ exposure to conflict has adverse intergenerational effects on their children’s socio-emotional outcomes of agency and pride. These effects are present at ages 8 and 12 and are robust to alternative specifications. At age 15, mothers’ conflict exposure increases children’s propensity to engage in crime-related risky behavior. The analysis of mechanisms highlights the role of reduced parental investments in children, driven by constrained household resources, a quality–quantity trade-off, and diminished maternal empowerment. Finally, an examination of the mother’s migration history reveals that migration decisions of her parents during the conflict partially mitigated the adverse effects on the socio-emotional development of their grandchildren.