Replication data for: The Effect of Civil War on Education, 1980-1997

This study examines the negative effects of civil wars and the post-civil war environment on educational expenditures and enrollment. Two causal mechanisms are considered. First, civil wars are likely to destroy a state's system of education through the loss of infrastructure and personnel. Second, a less deleterious cause may be the drawing away of funds for increased military expenditures to fight the civil war. Using UNESCO education data, the authors examine the percent change in educational expenditures and primary, secondary, and tertiary enrollment for all states from 1980 through 1997. The authors use a measure of when a state is in a civil war, a dynamic post-civil war measure, an interaction with military spending, and relevant control variables. The results indicate strong support for the notion that civil war is devastating for a system of education, as both expenditures and enrollment decline during periods of civil war. No support was found for the reallocation of education funds towards military spending during a civil war. These results highlight the importance of addressing the social costs of a civil war. Civil wars do not simply impose social costs because of increased funding to the military; rather, they severely disrupt a state's ability to provide even basic social services.

本研究探讨了内战及内战后环境对教育支出与入学率的负面影响，并梳理了两类因果作用机制。其一，内战可通过损毁基础设施与流失教育人员，破坏一国的教育体系；其二，另一影响相对缓和的诱因，可能是为扩充内战军费而挪用教育资金。研究团队依托联合国教科文组织（UNESCO）的教育数据，分析了1980年至1997年间全球所有国家的教育支出及小学、中学、高等教育入学率的变化百分比。研究采用了内战状态衡量指标、动态内战后环境衡量指标、军事支出交互项及相关控制变量。研究结果有力支撑了下述观点：内战对一国教育体系具有毁灭性冲击——内战期间，教育支出与各级入学率均出现下滑；但未发现内战期间存在教育经费向军事支出重新分配的证据。本研究结果凸显了重视内战社会成本的重要性：内战引发社会成本的根源并非仅仅在于军事拨款的增加，实则其严重破坏了一国提供基础社会服务的能力。