Subjective Well-Being and Armed Conflict: Evidence from Bosnia-Herzegovina
Social Indicators Research, September 2012, DOI: 10.1007/s11205-012-0131-8
34 Pages Posted: 19 Apr 2013
Date Written: March 12, 2012
Abstract
We analyze survey data from Bosnia and Herzegovina collected after the 1992-1995 Bosnian War to answer the following questions: How does individual subjective well-being evolve in the post-conflict period? Does exposure to conflict have an important role in determining one’s post-war experiences? Our identification strategy relies on regional and individual-level variation in exposure to the conflict. Individual war-related trauma has a negative, significant, and lasting impact on subjective well-being. The effect is stronger for those displaced during the war. Municipality-level conflict measures are not significantly associated with subjective well-being once municipality fixed effects are accounted for.
Keywords: Bosnia and Herzegovina, civil war, well-being
JEL Classification: D60, I31, O15, O52, D74
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation