Conflict, Institutions, and Economic Behavior: Legacies of the Cambodian Genocide

Abstract

This paper considers how the Cambodian genocide under the Pol Pot regime (1975-1979) altered people's post-conflict behaviors through institutional changes. Combining spatial genocide data and the complete count 1998 Population Census microdata, we examine the impacts of the genocide on subsequent investments in children's education for couples who had their first child during and after the Pol Pot era. These two couples had distinct institutional experiences: The former were controlled as family organizations - state-owned spouses and children - and the latter were not. We find adverse genocide impacts only among the former couples. Plausible underlying mechanisms are discussed.