From missing brothers to educated sisters

The effects of victimization during the Rwandan genocide

Bibliographic Data

ID6460489
AuthorsThomas Gautier (corresponding author)
Year2025
Volume191
Pages106945-106945
Publication date2025-03-27
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueWorld Development (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0305-750X • E-ISSN: 1873-5991
PublisherElsevier BV (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1016/j.worlddev.2025.106945
OpenAlexW4408889652
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited71

How do civil conflicts affect female empowerment? I study the effects of household-level victimization during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda on the human capital of surviving children. Identification stems from differential mortality rates by age groups and sex. I construct a Bartik-style instrument for household-level victimization based on whether the siblings of a child are likely to be targeted during the genocide due to their demographic characteristics. Victimization leads to a large increase in schooling, especially for surviving girls relative to surviving boys. Victimization mostly takes the form of losing male siblings. These results can be explained by the impact of relief programs and by increased parental investments in the human capital of surviving children following the loss of a child. This paper underscores the role of education in empowering female survivors, highlighting that rapid reconstruction of educational infrastructure and targeted scholarship programs were essential in fostering female educational gains and mitigating the long-term impacts of victimization

Criminology · Demographic economics · Development economics · Economics · Genocide · Political science · Global Peace and Security Dynamics · Law · Middle East and Rwanda Conflicts · Political Conflict and Governance · Psychology

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access