The Impact of Conflict on the Intergenerational Transmission of Chronic Poverty: An Overview and Annotated Bibliography.

Abstract

Commissioned by ODI and CPRC, this overview and annotated bibliography review the multi-disciplinary literature on the impact of conflict on the intergenerational transmission (IGT) of chronic poverty. It addresses the following issues: the mechanisms by which conflict causes poverty; the duration of the resulting poverty; the likelihood that poverty will be transmitted intergenerationally; the types of conflicts that generate poverty; and the households and individuals most affected by conflict-related poverty. The mechanisms through which conflict drives households and individuals within those households into poverty are mapped onto the livelihoods framework. In this report we focus on the impact of conflict on civilians; we do not address the recruitment, disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of combatants. We conclude that it is likely that conflict is a contributory factor in the intergenerational transmission of chronic poverty, primarily because it can irreversibly disrupt the provision of basic goods and services like food, healthcare and education at vulnerable moments (‘tipping points’) in the life-course of individuals. The overview concludes with a brief analysis of the problem of endogeneity in the study of conflict and chronic poverty and highlights methodological challenges.