Poverty Clinical Trial
Official title:
Evaluating a Landmine Action Ex-combatant Reintegration Program in Liberia
This project is an evaluation of an agricultural training and resettlement program for high-risk young adults in Liberia, especially poorly integrated male ex-combatants. The primary aim is to see to what extent an intensive economic and life skills intervention can rehabilitate high-risk individuals and reduce aggression and armed violence.
Poor and unemployed youth are widely considered a threat to political stability, often
blamed for everything from fights to crime, riots and revolutions. Ex-combatants cause
special worry. Not only do they have professional experience in warfare, and hence some
comparative advantage in violence, but their social networks may also be dense with
potential recruiters. War may also have left them poorer or more traumatized than their
peers. Each of these factors could elevate the risk of rebellion, crime, or other
aggression, risks greatest in weak states and uncertain economic climates like that of
Liberia.
In response, policymakers commonly turn to employment and other poverty alleviation
programs, including cash grants, vocational training, small business development, and
microfinance. Underlying these programs is the belief that with economic opportunities come
stability. When dealing with organized populations, such as former combatants, gang members,
or criminal organizations, policymakers are also anxious to break down risky social
networks, especially the links between commanders and foot soldiers. Interventions often go
beyond simple employment programs, and seek to relocate, resettle, or otherwise remove
high-risk individuals from risky networks.
This project evaluates a rehabilitation program for ex-combatants and other high-risk youth
in Liberia, a unique case where it was both politically and practically feasible to
establish and follow a random control group. The program we study, which was designed and
implemented by the international non-governmental organization (NGO) Action on Armed
Violence, is among the best of its class. The program is targeted towards ex-combatants and
other high-risk populations in resource enclaves and other "hotspots" around the country. It
provides extensive agricultural skills training and inputs alongside life skills training
and resettlement assistance. Its objective is to reduce the risk of violence and aggression
by providing an alternative, stable livelihood in civilian communities to youth otherwise
engaged in illicit activities or thought to be easily mobilized into crime or violence.
After observing two highly promising courses and classes of graduates, the researchers
collaborated with the NGO to randomly evaluate their next round of classes at two training
sites.
The program implementers confirmed that the number of youth eligible for the program
exceeded program capacity by a factor of at least two. The sample size was limited to 2.5
times the number of spots in the program, for a total of 1500. In order to give all eligible
youth an equal opportunity to participate, the program implementers determined entry into
the program using a computerized randomization of eligible youth. Respondents were assigned
to treatment and control using a randomization program coded in Stata. The sample was
stratified by gender, "commander status," and community of registration.
The study has two principal rounds of data collection among both treatment and control
groups: a baseline prior to the intervention and a follow-up survey approximately one year
following completion of the program.
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Allocation: Randomized, Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment, Masking: Open Label
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