Armed conflict, community-based cash transfers, and social cohesion: Evidence from a randomized intervention in Ethiopia
Amid a surge in armed conflicts in Africa, the impact of armed conflicts on social cohesion and potential avenues to rebuild social cohesion in conflict-affected settings remain active areas of inquiry. Most importantly, identifying instruments and interventions that can effectively strengthen socia...
| Autores principales: | , , |
|---|---|
| Formato: | Artículo preliminar |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés |
| Publicado: |
Household in Conflict Network
2025
|
| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/177817 |
| _version_ | 1855522639986032640 |
|---|---|
| author | Abay, Kibrom A. Nigus, Halefom Yigzaw Tabe-Ojong, Martin Paul Jr. |
| author_browse | Abay, Kibrom A. Nigus, Halefom Yigzaw Tabe-Ojong, Martin Paul Jr. |
| author_facet | Abay, Kibrom A. Nigus, Halefom Yigzaw Tabe-Ojong, Martin Paul Jr. |
| author_sort | Abay, Kibrom A. |
| collection | Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace) |
| description | Amid a surge in armed conflicts in Africa, the impact of armed conflicts on social cohesion and potential avenues to rebuild social cohesion in conflict-affected settings remain active areas of inquiry. Most importantly, identifying instruments and interventions that can effectively strengthen social cohesion in conflict-affected settings can inform and facilitate peace-building efforts. We examine whether community-based cash transfer and social protection programs can strengthen social cohesion in settings grappling with the adverse effects of armed conflict. We answer this question using the 2020 civil war in Ethiopia and combining this with a randomized community-based cash transfer program rolled out after the conflict. Exploiting temporal variation in the spread of large-scale armed conflicts (battles) across a two-wave panel survey, we show that battles are associated with a deterioration in social cohesion. Reassuringly, we demonstrate that a modestly sized community-based cash transfer can rebuild and restore social cohesion in communities grappling with armed conflict and deterioration in social cohesion. Heterogeneity analysis shows that households who belong to a minority ethnic group in each community reported a higher loss in social capital associated with their exposure to armed conflict and that the community-based cash transfer appears to be more effective in rebuilding social cohesion among these households. |
| format | Artículo preliminar |
| id | CGSpace177817 |
| institution | CGIAR Consortium |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| publishDateRange | 2025 |
| publishDateSort | 2025 |
| publisher | Household in Conflict Network |
| publisherStr | Household in Conflict Network |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | CGSpace1778172025-11-14T16:20:19Z Armed conflict, community-based cash transfers, and social cohesion: Evidence from a randomized intervention in Ethiopia Abay, Kibrom A. Nigus, Halefom Yigzaw Tabe-Ojong, Martin Paul Jr. social protection conflicts cash transfers Amid a surge in armed conflicts in Africa, the impact of armed conflicts on social cohesion and potential avenues to rebuild social cohesion in conflict-affected settings remain active areas of inquiry. Most importantly, identifying instruments and interventions that can effectively strengthen social cohesion in conflict-affected settings can inform and facilitate peace-building efforts. We examine whether community-based cash transfer and social protection programs can strengthen social cohesion in settings grappling with the adverse effects of armed conflict. We answer this question using the 2020 civil war in Ethiopia and combining this with a randomized community-based cash transfer program rolled out after the conflict. Exploiting temporal variation in the spread of large-scale armed conflicts (battles) across a two-wave panel survey, we show that battles are associated with a deterioration in social cohesion. Reassuringly, we demonstrate that a modestly sized community-based cash transfer can rebuild and restore social cohesion in communities grappling with armed conflict and deterioration in social cohesion. Heterogeneity analysis shows that households who belong to a minority ethnic group in each community reported a higher loss in social capital associated with their exposure to armed conflict and that the community-based cash transfer appears to be more effective in rebuilding social cohesion among these households. 2025-11 2025-11-11T18:15:10Z 2025-11-11T18:15:10Z Working Paper https://hdl.handle.net/10568/177817 en Open Access Household in Conflict Network Abay, Kibrom A.; Nigus, Halefom Yigzaw; and Tabe-Ojong, Martin Paul Jr. 2025. Armed conflict, community-based cash transfers, and social cohesion: Evidence from a randomized intervention in Ethiopia. HiCN Working Paper Series 440. https://hicn.org/working-paper/440/ |
| spellingShingle | social protection conflicts cash transfers Abay, Kibrom A. Nigus, Halefom Yigzaw Tabe-Ojong, Martin Paul Jr. Armed conflict, community-based cash transfers, and social cohesion: Evidence from a randomized intervention in Ethiopia |
| title | Armed conflict, community-based cash transfers, and social cohesion: Evidence from a randomized intervention in Ethiopia |
| title_full | Armed conflict, community-based cash transfers, and social cohesion: Evidence from a randomized intervention in Ethiopia |
| title_fullStr | Armed conflict, community-based cash transfers, and social cohesion: Evidence from a randomized intervention in Ethiopia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Armed conflict, community-based cash transfers, and social cohesion: Evidence from a randomized intervention in Ethiopia |
| title_short | Armed conflict, community-based cash transfers, and social cohesion: Evidence from a randomized intervention in Ethiopia |
| title_sort | armed conflict community based cash transfers and social cohesion evidence from a randomized intervention in ethiopia |
| topic | social protection conflicts cash transfers |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/177817 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT abaykibroma armedconflictcommunitybasedcashtransfersandsocialcohesionevidencefromarandomizedinterventioninethiopia AT nigushalefomyigzaw armedconflictcommunitybasedcashtransfersandsocialcohesionevidencefromarandomizedinterventioninethiopia AT tabeojongmartinpauljr armedconflictcommunitybasedcashtransfersandsocialcohesionevidencefromarandomizedinterventioninethiopia |