Social Science Research Council
The Economic Analysis of Conflict: Problems and Prospects - April 19-20, 2004
Published on: Jun 20, 2006
SSRC Office, 2040 S Street, NW, Washington D.C. 20009
Monday, April 19, 2004
9:30 AM Continental Breakfast
9:45 AM Welcome and Introduction - John Tirman (SSRC)
10:00 AM MORNING SESSION
Chair: V.L Elliott
PANEL I: State of the Art
The origins of conflict have earned increasing attention from social science scholars over the last dozen years or so, owing to the end of the Cold War, the spectacle of genocide, state collapse and massive refugee crises, and confusion in the international community about how to respond. Many approaches to the questions of causes are active and much progress has been made empirically—notably, a considerable amount of that progress has resulted from economic and statistical analyses. A leader in this effort, Paul Collier, will reflect on these contributions, their limitations, methodological soundness, completeness, and theory building.
Monday, April 19, 2004
9:30 AM Continental Breakfast
9:45 AM Welcome and Introduction - John Tirman (SSRC)
10:00 AM MORNING SESSION
Chair: V.L Elliott
PANEL I: State of the Art
The origins of conflict have earned increasing attention from social science scholars over the last dozen years or so, owing to the end of the Cold War, the spectacle of genocide, state collapse and massive refugee crises, and confusion in the international community about how to respond. Many approaches to the questions of causes are active and much progress has been made empirically—notably, a considerable amount of that progress has resulted from economic and statistical analyses. A leader in this effort, Paul Collier, will reflect on these contributions, their limitations, methodological soundness, completeness, and theory building.
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Speaker:
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Paul Collier, Oxford University
This panel will examine the applicability and relevance of quantitative methods to the study of civil war. To what extent do the assumptions of economics limit its relevance to the study of internal order and collective violence? Do such assumptions and methods preclude the effective use of economics in interdisciplinary analyses?
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Speakers:
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Jack Hirshleifer, University of California, Los Angeles
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Todd Sandler, University of Southern California
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David Laitin, Stanford University
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Herschel Grossman, Brown University, discussant
12:30 PM Lunch
1:30 PM AFTERNOON SESSION
PANEL III: Methodological challenges from outside economics
Chair: Jack Levy, Rutgers University
This panel will discuss methodological challenges to the economic analysis of conflict from the perspective of other social sciences, examining its assumptions, selection of statistical data, construction of indicators, integration of political and social factors, and so forth. Of particular interest is the question of completeness—i.e., in what ways do economic analyses neglect or dismiss important causal factors? In what ways has economic analysis changed the way other disciplines have approached the problem of understanding armed conflict?
1:30 PM AFTERNOON SESSION
PANEL III: Methodological challenges from outside economics
Chair: Jack Levy, Rutgers University
This panel will discuss methodological challenges to the economic analysis of conflict from the perspective of other social sciences, examining its assumptions, selection of statistical data, construction of indicators, integration of political and social factors, and so forth. Of particular interest is the question of completeness—i.e., in what ways do economic analyses neglect or dismiss important causal factors? In what ways has economic analysis changed the way other disciplines have approached the problem of understanding armed conflict?
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Speakers:
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Robert Bates, Harvard University
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William Reno, Northwestern University
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Roland Marchal, Centre d'Etudes et de Recherches Internationales, Paris
PANEL IV: Conflict in Situ
Chair: Anne Pitcher, The Woodrow Wilson International Center
These case studies will elicit insights on both of the major questions of this workshop: to what is the contribution of the economic approach in understanding conflicts, and what methods are required to understand the influence of globalization and its relationship to conflict?
Chair: Anne Pitcher, The Woodrow Wilson International Center
These case studies will elicit insights on both of the major questions of this workshop: to what is the contribution of the economic approach in understanding conflicts, and what methods are required to understand the influence of globalization and its relationship to conflict?
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Speakers:
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Sierra Leone, Ibrahim Abdullah, University of the Western Cape, South Africa
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Colombia, Francisco Gutierrez, Universidad Nacional de Colombia
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Former Yugoslavia, Susan Woodward, City University of New York Graduate Center
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Janet Roitman, Centre d'Etudes et de Recherches Internationales, Paris, discussant
8:00 PM Dinner at Restaurant Nora (2132 Florida Ave, NW)
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Speaker:
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Andrew Mack, University of British Columbia
Tuesday, April 20, 2004
9:00 AM Continental Breakfast
9:30 AM MORNING SESSION
PANEL V: A New Challenge: Globalization and Conflict
Chair: Carolyn Nordstrom, University of Notre Dame
How do different forms of globalization interact and affect the conditions conducive to armed conflict, or, conversely, the conditions fostering stability and peace? A number of theorists posit the danger of diminishing the state's capacity to deal with organized violence, or the conditions that can lead to armed conflict. How might we describe interaction between the changing roles of states in controlling violence and external pressures for reform? What influences can be attributed to international pressures for, and the implementation of, marketization? In what ways do political and economic reform interact with respect to armed conflict? What would constitute a research agenda that can advance our knowledge on these questions, and what part can economic tools play?
9:00 AM Continental Breakfast
9:30 AM MORNING SESSION
PANEL V: A New Challenge: Globalization and Conflict
Chair: Carolyn Nordstrom, University of Notre Dame
How do different forms of globalization interact and affect the conditions conducive to armed conflict, or, conversely, the conditions fostering stability and peace? A number of theorists posit the danger of diminishing the state's capacity to deal with organized violence, or the conditions that can lead to armed conflict. How might we describe interaction between the changing roles of states in controlling violence and external pressures for reform? What influences can be attributed to international pressures for, and the implementation of, marketization? In what ways do political and economic reform interact with respect to armed conflict? What would constitute a research agenda that can advance our knowledge on these questions, and what part can economic tools play?
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Speakers:
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Democratization, Jack Goldstone, George Mason University
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Structural Adjustment, James Boyce
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New Threats, Gwyn Prins, London School of Economics
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Methodological Challenges, Nicholas Sambanis, Yale University
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Ian Bannon, World Bank, discussant
1:00 PM Lunch
2:00 PM AFTERNOON SESSION
PANEL VI: Complementary approaches
Chair: William Zartman, SAIS - Johns Hopkins University
This session will map out other approaches to the analysis of conflict, with a view to examining potential ways of integrating different frames of analysis with that of the economic approach. How does the economic analysis of conflict complement other accounts, and vice-versa? How do different approaches fit (or not fit) with each other?
2:00 PM AFTERNOON SESSION
PANEL VI: Complementary approaches
Chair: William Zartman, SAIS - Johns Hopkins University
This session will map out other approaches to the analysis of conflict, with a view to examining potential ways of integrating different frames of analysis with that of the economic approach. How does the economic analysis of conflict complement other accounts, and vice-versa? How do different approaches fit (or not fit) with each other?
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Speaker:
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Monty Marshall, University of Maryland
4:15 PM Final Remarks
5:00 PM Departures
5:00 PM Departures
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