The Relationship Between Horizontal Education Inequality and Conflict: Preliminary Findings

• In Event: The effect of horizontal inequalities in education on violent conflict: Findings from UNICEF’s PBEA initiative

Abstract

This presentation asks: What is the relationship between horizontal educational inequality and the likelihood of conflict worldwide? Using a random intercepts logistic regression models, this paper will present findings on the relationship between horizontal inequality and conflict. Preliminary findings suggest that in the most recent decades (1990s and 2000s), there is a robust relationship between horizontal inequality and the likelihood of a country experiencing an outbreak of violent conflict. The findings are robust for both ethnic and religious group-based inequalities and for both males and females. The findings are also robust to multiple specifications of inequality. The effect of horizontal inequality is not found in earlier decades, when horizontal inequalities in education were larger worldwide and overall levels of education were lower.

Author

• Elizabeth Buckner, FHI 360