Barakat, BilalUrdal, Henrik2012-03-192012-03-192009-11-01https://hdl.handle.net/10986/4304Much of the developing world has experienced a decline in mortality, while fertility often has remained high. This has produced youthful populations in many countries, generally referred to as "youth bulges." Recent empirical research suggests that youth bulges may be associated with increased risks of political violence and conflict. This paper addresses ways that education may serve as a strategy to reduce the risk of political violence, particularly in the context of large cohorts of young males. The authors use a new education dataset measuring educational attainment. The dataset is constructed using demographic back-projection techniques, and offers uninterrupted time-series data for 120 countries. The empirical analysis finds evidence that large, young male population bulges are more likely to increase the risk of conflict in societies where male secondary education is low. The effect on conflict risk by low education and large youth populations is particularly strong in low and middle-income countries. This is especially challenging for Sub-Saharan Africa, the region facing the youngest age structure and the lowest educational attainment levels. Although quantitative studies generally find a strong relationship between indicators of development and conflict risk, the results suggest that poor countries do have some leverage over reducing conflict potential through increased educational opportunities for young people. There is further evidence that the interaction of large youth cohorts and low education levels may be mediated by structural economic factors. The study supports broad policy interventions in education by relaxing concerns about the consequences of rapid educational expansion.CC BY 3.0 IGOACCESS TO EDUCATIONADULT POPULATIONAGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIONARMED CONFLICTBASIC EDUCATIONBOTH SEXESCENSUSESCENTER FOR DEVELOPMENTCIVIL CONFLICTCIVIL WARCONTINUOUS EDUCATIONCURRICULADEMOCRACYDEMOGRAPHIC CHANGEDEPENDENCY RATIODEVELOPING COUNTRIESECONOMIC DEMOGRAPHYECONOMIC GROWTHECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIESECONOMIC PROGRESSEDUCATION FOR ALLEDUCATION VARIABLESEDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENTEDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENTEDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONSEDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIESEDUCATIONAL PLANNINGEMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIESENROLLMENTFEMALE EDUCATIONFERTILITYFERTILITY TRANSITIONFOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENTGENDER DISPARITIESGENDER DISPARITIES IN EDUCATIONGENOCIDEGOVERNMENT PROGRAMSHUMAN CAPITALHUMAN DEVELOPMENTIMPORTANT POLICYINFANTINFANT MORTALITYINFANT MORTALITY RATEINFANT MORTALITY RATESINTERVENTIONSINVESTMENTS IN EDUCATIONLABOR FORCELABOR MARKETLABOR MARKETSLACK OF INFORMATIONLEVEL OF DEVELOPMENTLEVEL OF EDUCATIONLEVELS OF EDUCATIONLIVING CONDITIONSMALE YOUTHMANUALSMIGRANTSMILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALSMORTALITYNATIONAL EDUCATIONNATURAL RESOURCENATURAL RESOURCESOLD MALESOLD MENPEACEPERPETRATORS OF VIOLENCEPOLICY FORMULATIONPOLICY IMPLICATIONSPOLICY RESEARCHPOLICY RESEARCH WORKING PAPERPOLITICAL CHANGEPOLITICAL UNRESTPOPULATION ACTIONPOPULATION ACTION INTERNATIONALPOPULATION AND DEVELOPMENTPOPULATION DIVISIONPOPULATION DYNAMICSPOPULATION ESTIMATESPOPULATION MATTERSPOPULATION SIZEPRACTITIONERSPRIMARY EDUCATIONPRIMARY ENROLLMENTPRIMARY ENROLLMENT RATESPRIMARY SCHOOLPRIMARY SCHOOLINGPROGRESSPURCHASING POWERRISK FACTORSSECONDARY EDUCATIONSECONDARY SCHOOLSECONDARY SCHOOLINGSEXSOCIAL COHESIONSOCIAL DEVELOPMENTSOCIAL RESEARCHSOCIAL UNRESTSUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENTTERTIARY EDUCATIONTERTIARY LEVELTEXTBOOKSUNEMPLOYMENTUNFPAUNITED NATIONS POPULATION FUNDURBANIZATIONVIOLENCEWAGESWARSWORLD POPULATIONYOUNG MALEYOUNG MALESYOUNG MENYOUNG PEOPLEYOUTHYOUTH EMPLOYMENTYOUTH MOVEMENTSYOUTH UNEMPLOYMENTWorld Bank10.1596/1813-9450-5114