Conflict, Educational Attainment, and Structural Transformation: La Violencia in Colombia

Abstract

We examine the long-term impact of violence on educational attainment, with evidence from Colombia’s La Violencia, a period of intense political violence in the mid-twentieth century. We find that individuals exposed to violence during and especially before their schooling years experience a significant and economically meaningful decrease in years of schooling. Exploring consequences beyond human capital accumulation, we show that exposed cohorts also engage in economic sectors that typically employ less qualified labor and are less likely to transition to jobs in manufacturing and services (relative to agriculture). Violence thus appears to place obstacles in the process of transitioning to more modern sectors, potentially affecting the structural transformation that may occur as income increases.