Mathieu Couttenier
Biographic Data
| ID | 3605596 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Mathieu Couttenier |
| GIVEN NAMES | Mathieu |
| FAMILY NAME | Couttenier |
| SIGNATURE | COUTTENIER M |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Lausanne |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-7166-5809 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 11 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 46 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 11 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2012 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
Inequality and social unrest in India
We show that inequality can lead to social unrest in rural India. We develop a theoretical framework in which civilians rationally engage in social unrest to oppose the (unfair) distribution of surplus by the elite. Our model predicts that the likelihood of observing social unrest in a village increases with the sum of distances between the (log) average and the lowest incomes. We test this prediction using unique microdata on bank account inform…
Comprendre les conséquences des conflits civils afin de rompre les cycles vicieux de la violence
Détruisant les infrastructures, perturbant les activités économiques, érodant la confiance sociale, les conflits civils provoquent des bouleversements dramatiques et durables au sein des sociétés. On constate la mise en place d’un cercle vicieux de violence et d’instabilité. Cet article étudie ce cercle vicieux et montre que rompre avec ce dernier exige des politiques publiques ciblées pour prévenir durablement la récurrence des violences et favo…
Anti-Muslim Voting and Media Coverage of Immigrant Crimes
We study how news coverage of immigrant criminality impacts voting in one of the most controversial referendums in recent years—the 2009 Swiss minaret ban. We combine a comprehensive crime detection data set with detailed information on newspaper coverage. We first document a large upward distortion in media reporting of immigrant crime during the prereferendum period. Exploiting quasi-random variations in crime incidence, we find a positive firs…
Mineral Resources and the Salience of Ethnic Identities
This paper shows how ethnic identities may become more salient due to natural resources extraction. We combine individual data on the strength of ethnic—relative to national—identities with geo-localised information on the contours of ethnic homelands, and on the timing and location of mineral resources exploitation in 25 African countries, from 2005 to 2015. Our strategy takes advantage of several dimensions of exposure to resources exploitation…
Shutdown policies and conflict worldwide
Fertile Ground for Conflict
We investigate how variations in soil productivity affect civil conflicts. We first present a model with heterogeneous land in which variations in input prices (fertilizers) affect appropriable rents and the opportunity costs of fighting. The theory predicts that spikes in input prices increase the likelihood of conflicts through their effect on income and inequality, and that this effect is magnified when soil fertility is naturally more heterog…
This Mine is Mine! How Minerals Fuel Conflicts in Africa
We combine georeferenced data on mining extraction of 14 minerals with information on conflict events at spatial resolution of 0.5 o × 0.5 o for all of Africa between 1997 and 2010. Exploiting exogenous variations in world prices, we find a positive impact of mining on conflict at the local level. Quantitatively, our estimates suggest that the historical rise in mineral prices (commodity super-cycle) might explain up to one-fourth of the average …
External Shocks, Internal Shots: The Geography of Civil Conflicts
We use georeferenced information on the location of violent events in sub-Saharan African countries and provide evidence that external income shocks are important determinants of the intensity and geography of civil conflicts. More precisely, we find that (a) the incidence, intensity, and onset of conflicts are generally negatively and significantly correlated with income variations at the local level; (b) this relationship is significantly weake…
Living in the Garden of Eden: Mineral resources and preferences for redistribution
Drought and Civil War in Sub‐Saharan Africa
We explore the relationship between drought and civil war. We show that the link between rainfall, temperature and civil war found in the literature may be driven by aggregate shocks (such as global climate) that were not accounted for. A standard differences-in-differences specification relying only on within country variation reveals a much weaker and insignificant link between weather variables and civil war. To increase statistical power, we …
L'effet conditionnel des ressources naturelles sur les institutions
On démontre empiriquement que les ressources naturelles ne sont pas un facteur de dé térioration systématique de la qualité institutionnelle d’un pays. Les régimes parlementaires ne connaissent aucun effet de la rente, tirée des ressources naturelles, sur leurs institutions. En revanche, les systèmes présidentiels sont soumis à un effet non linéaire (courbe en U in versé) des ressources naturelles sur les institutions. Pour de faibles montants de…
Drought and Civil War in Sub‐Saharan Africa
We explore the relationship between drought and civil war. We show that the link between rainfall, temperature and civil war found in the literature may be driven by aggregate shocks (such as global climate) that were not accounted for. A standard differences-in-differences specification relying only on within country variation reveals a much weaker and insignificant link between weather variables and civil war. To increase statistical power, we …
Mineral Resources and the Salience of Ethnic Identities
This paper shows how ethnic identities may become more salient due to natural resources extraction. We combine individual data on the strength of ethnic—relative to national—identities with geo-localised information on the contours of ethnic homelands, and on the timing and location of mineral resources exploitation in 25 African countries, from 2005 to 2015. Our strategy takes advantage of several dimensions of exposure to resources exploitation…
L'effet conditionnel des ressources naturelles sur les institutions
On démontre empiriquement que les ressources naturelles ne sont pas un facteur de dé térioration systématique de la qualité institutionnelle d’un pays. Les régimes parlementaires ne connaissent aucun effet de la rente, tirée des ressources naturelles, sur leurs institutions. En revanche, les systèmes présidentiels sont soumis à un effet non linéaire (courbe en U in versé) des ressources naturelles sur les institutions. Pour de faibles montants de…
Drought and Civil War in Sub‐Saharan Africa
We explore the relationship between drought and civil war. We show that the link between rainfall, temperature and civil war found in the literature may be driven by aggregate shocks (such as global climate) that were not accounted for. A standard differences-in-differences specification relying only on within country variation reveals a much weaker and insignificant link between weather variables and civil war. To increase statistical power, we …
External Shocks, Internal Shots: The Geography of Civil Conflicts
We use georeferenced information on the location of violent events in sub-Saharan African countries and provide evidence that external income shocks are important determinants of the intensity and geography of civil conflicts. More precisely, we find that (a) the incidence, intensity, and onset of conflicts are generally negatively and significantly correlated with income variations at the local level; (b) this relationship is significantly weake…
Living in the Garden of Eden: Mineral resources and preferences for redistribution
This Mine is Mine! How Minerals Fuel Conflicts in Africa
We combine georeferenced data on mining extraction of 14 minerals with information on conflict events at spatial resolution of 0.5 o × 0.5 o for all of Africa between 1997 and 2010. Exploiting exogenous variations in world prices, we find a positive impact of mining on conflict at the local level. Quantitatively, our estimates suggest that the historical rise in mineral prices (commodity super-cycle) might explain up to one-fourth of the average …
Fertile Ground for Conflict
We investigate how variations in soil productivity affect civil conflicts. We first present a model with heterogeneous land in which variations in input prices (fertilizers) affect appropriable rents and the opportunity costs of fighting. The theory predicts that spikes in input prices increase the likelihood of conflicts through their effect on income and inequality, and that this effect is magnified when soil fertility is naturally more heterog…
Shutdown policies and conflict worldwide
Mineral Resources and the Salience of Ethnic Identities
This paper shows how ethnic identities may become more salient due to natural resources extraction. We combine individual data on the strength of ethnic—relative to national—identities with geo-localised information on the contours of ethnic homelands, and on the timing and location of mineral resources exploitation in 25 African countries, from 2005 to 2015. Our strategy takes advantage of several dimensions of exposure to resources exploitation…
Anti-Muslim Voting and Media Coverage of Immigrant Crimes
We study how news coverage of immigrant criminality impacts voting in one of the most controversial referendums in recent years—the 2009 Swiss minaret ban. We combine a comprehensive crime detection data set with detailed information on newspaper coverage. We first document a large upward distortion in media reporting of immigrant crime during the prereferendum period. Exploiting quasi-random variations in crime incidence, we find a positive firs…
Comprendre les conséquences des conflits civils afin de rompre les cycles vicieux de la violence
Détruisant les infrastructures, perturbant les activités économiques, érodant la confiance sociale, les conflits civils provoquent des bouleversements dramatiques et durables au sein des sociétés. On constate la mise en place d’un cercle vicieux de violence et d’instabilité. Cet article étudie ce cercle vicieux et montre que rompre avec ce dernier exige des politiques publiques ciblées pour prévenir durablement la récurrence des violences et favo…
Inequality and social unrest in India
We show that inequality can lead to social unrest in rural India. We develop a theoretical framework in which civilians rationally engage in social unrest to oppose the (unfair) distribution of surplus by the elite. Our model predicts that the likelihood of observing social unrest in a village increases with the sum of distances between the (log) average and the lowest incomes. We test this prediction using unique microdata on bank account inform…
Political science (9 works) · Economics (7 works) · Geography (6 works) · Agricultural risk and resilience (4 works) · Computer Science (4 works) · Demographic economics (4 works) · Law (4 works) · Natural Resources and Economic Development (4 works) · Culture, Economy, and Development Studies (3 works) · Development economics (3 works)