This paper develops a theoretical framework that formalizes a guerrilla movement's observed oil pipeline attack decision. The movement's decision is modeled as an infinite horizon Markov Decision Process, where each period it chooses to attack or not attack the pipeline. For extortionary...

During the last decade, forced internal displacement in Colombia has been a growing phenomenon closely linked to the escalation of the internal armed conflict - particularly in rural areas. The displacement problem has affected nearly every region and vulnerable groups of the population. Two...

Colombia is currently the world´s largest producer of coca leaf and the principal producer of opium poppies in the Americas; the plants are the basic raw materials used to produce cocaine and heroin. This document will analyse the current relationship between these crops and illegal armed...

Inequality has always been taken as a major explanatory factor of the rate of crime. Yet, the evidence in favor of that hypothesis is weak. Pure cross-sectional analyses show significant positive effects but do not control for fixed effects. Time series and panel data point to a variety of...

Increased access to education will be key in any efforts to improve the quality of rural life and the welfare of the next generation in developing countries. Microfinance programshave been among components of strategies for poverty alleviation that have attempted to address this challenge. This...