Rebuilding trust in local leadership in conflict-affected settings: The impact of community-based cash transfers

Trust in local leadership is critical for effective delivery of public goods and services -especially in conflict-affected and post-conflict settings, where local institutions and markets remain weak, and peacebuilding and recovery efforts are crucial. Thus, identifying avenues and instruments for r...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Abay, Kibrom A., Nigus, Halefom Yigzaw, Kahsay, Goytom Abraha, Taffesse, Alemayehu Seyoum
Format: Artículo preliminar
Language:Inglés
Published: International Food Policy Research Institute 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/177383
_version_ 1855532263138131968
author Abay, Kibrom A.
Nigus, Halefom Yigzaw
Kahsay, Goytom Abraha
Taffesse, Alemayehu Seyoum
author_browse Abay, Kibrom A.
Kahsay, Goytom Abraha
Nigus, Halefom Yigzaw
Taffesse, Alemayehu Seyoum
author_facet Abay, Kibrom A.
Nigus, Halefom Yigzaw
Kahsay, Goytom Abraha
Taffesse, Alemayehu Seyoum
author_sort Abay, Kibrom A.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Trust in local leadership is critical for effective delivery of public goods and services -especially in conflict-affected and post-conflict settings, where local institutions and markets remain weak, and peacebuilding and recovery efforts are crucial. Thus, identifying avenues and instruments for rebuilding trust in local leadership remains important. Building on a recent and large-scale armed conflict in Ethiopia, we study the impact of a randomized community-based cash transfer on trust in local leadership. The randomized cash transfer was introduced after the war in Ethiopia and its implementation involved local community leaders, some of whom may have participated in the conflict. We find that exposure to armed conflict is associated with a significant deterioration in trust in local leaders, while the community-based cash transfer recovers some of the deteriorated trust. We provide suggestive evidence that the impacts of cash transfer are driven not only by those who received the cash transfer but also by non-beneficiary households in communities where the cash transfer is implemented. Our heterogeneity analysis reveals that the treatment effect is largely driven by poor households and households which do not benefit from government safety net programs. These results have important implications for policy design in rebuilding trust in local leadership in post-conflict and fragile settings.
format Artículo preliminar
id CGSpace177383
institution CGIAR Consortium
language Inglés
publishDate 2025
publishDateRange 2025
publishDateSort 2025
publisher International Food Policy Research Institute
publisherStr International Food Policy Research Institute
record_format dspace
spelling CGSpace1773832025-12-02T21:03:13Z Rebuilding trust in local leadership in conflict-affected settings: The impact of community-based cash transfers Abay, Kibrom A. Nigus, Halefom Yigzaw Kahsay, Goytom Abraha Taffesse, Alemayehu Seyoum armed conflicts cash transfer governance institutions leaders Trust in local leadership is critical for effective delivery of public goods and services -especially in conflict-affected and post-conflict settings, where local institutions and markets remain weak, and peacebuilding and recovery efforts are crucial. Thus, identifying avenues and instruments for rebuilding trust in local leadership remains important. Building on a recent and large-scale armed conflict in Ethiopia, we study the impact of a randomized community-based cash transfer on trust in local leadership. The randomized cash transfer was introduced after the war in Ethiopia and its implementation involved local community leaders, some of whom may have participated in the conflict. We find that exposure to armed conflict is associated with a significant deterioration in trust in local leaders, while the community-based cash transfer recovers some of the deteriorated trust. We provide suggestive evidence that the impacts of cash transfer are driven not only by those who received the cash transfer but also by non-beneficiary households in communities where the cash transfer is implemented. Our heterogeneity analysis reveals that the treatment effect is largely driven by poor households and households which do not benefit from government safety net programs. These results have important implications for policy design in rebuilding trust in local leadership in post-conflict and fragile settings. 2025-10-28 2025-10-28T17:02:59Z 2025-10-28T17:02:59Z Working Paper https://hdl.handle.net/10568/177383 en Open Access application/pdf International Food Policy Research Institute Abay, Kibrom A.; Nigus, Halefom Yigzaw; Kahsay, Goytom Abraha; and Taffesse, Alemayehu Seyoum. 2025. Rebuilding trust in local leadership in conflict-affected settings: The impact of community-based cash transfers. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2370. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/177383
spellingShingle armed conflicts
cash transfer
governance
institutions
leaders
Abay, Kibrom A.
Nigus, Halefom Yigzaw
Kahsay, Goytom Abraha
Taffesse, Alemayehu Seyoum
Rebuilding trust in local leadership in conflict-affected settings: The impact of community-based cash transfers
title Rebuilding trust in local leadership in conflict-affected settings: The impact of community-based cash transfers
title_full Rebuilding trust in local leadership in conflict-affected settings: The impact of community-based cash transfers
title_fullStr Rebuilding trust in local leadership in conflict-affected settings: The impact of community-based cash transfers
title_full_unstemmed Rebuilding trust in local leadership in conflict-affected settings: The impact of community-based cash transfers
title_short Rebuilding trust in local leadership in conflict-affected settings: The impact of community-based cash transfers
title_sort rebuilding trust in local leadership in conflict affected settings the impact of community based cash transfers
topic armed conflicts
cash transfer
governance
institutions
leaders
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/177383
work_keys_str_mv AT abaykibroma rebuildingtrustinlocalleadershipinconflictaffectedsettingstheimpactofcommunitybasedcashtransfers
AT nigushalefomyigzaw rebuildingtrustinlocalleadershipinconflictaffectedsettingstheimpactofcommunitybasedcashtransfers
AT kahsaygoytomabraha rebuildingtrustinlocalleadershipinconflictaffectedsettingstheimpactofcommunitybasedcashtransfers
AT taffessealemayehuseyoum rebuildingtrustinlocalleadershipinconflictaffectedsettingstheimpactofcommunitybasedcashtransfers