Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP8074
Authors: Christopher Ksoll; Rocco Macchiavello; Ameet Morjaria
Abstract: This paper investigates the effects of ethnic violence on export-oriented firms and their workers. Following the disputed 2007 Kenyan presidential election, export volumes of flower firms affected by the ensuing violence dropped by 38 percent and worker absence exceeded 50 percent. Large firms and firms with stable contractual relationships in export markets registered smaller proportional losses and had fewer workers absent. Model calibrations indicate that, to induce workers to come and work over-time, operating costs, on average, increased by 16 percent. For the marginal worker, the cost of going to work exceeded the average weekly income by 320 percent.
Keywords: ethnic violence; exports; firm heterogeneity; nontraditional agriculture
JEL Codes: D74; F14; O13; Q13
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Worker absence (J22) | Production (L23) |
| Firm characteristics (L25) | Production losses (D20) |
| Violence (D74) | Weekly export volumes (F10) |
| Violence (D74) | Worker absence (J22) |
| Violence (D74) | Operating costs (D23) |