The last decades have seen a resurgence of armed conflict globally, renewing the need for durable peace agreements. In this paper, I evaluate the economic effects of the peace agreement between the Colombian government and the largest guerrilla group in the country, the FARC, ending one of the lengthiest and most violent armed conflicts in recent history. Using a difference-in-difference strategy comparing municipalities that historically had FARC presence and those with presence of a similar, smaller guerrilla group, the ELN, before and after the start of a unilateral ceasefire by the FARC, I establish three sets of results. First, violence indicators significantly and sizably decreased in historically FARC municipalities. Second, despite this substantial reduction in violence, I find precisely-estimated null effects across several economic indicators, suggesting no effect of the peace agreement on economic activity. In addition, I use a sharp discontinuity in eligibility to the government's flagship business and job creation program for conflict-affected areas to evaluate the policy's impact, also finding precisely-estimated null effects on the same economic indicators. Third, I present evidence that suggests the reason why historically FARC municipalities could not reap the economic benefits from the reduction in violence is a lack of state capacity, caused both by their low initial levels of state capacity and the lack of state entry post-ceasefire. These results indicate that peace agreements require complementary investments in state capacity to yield an economic dividend.

Global hunger levels have set new records in each of the last three years, outpacing aid budgets (WFP, 2023; FSIN, 2023). Most households experiencing food insecurity crises are now in fragile states (Townsend et al., 2021), making it difficult to support vulnerable, hard-to-reach populations without interference from oppressive governments and non-state actors (Kurtzer, 2019; Cliffe et al., 2023). Despite growing interest in using digital payments for crisis response (Suri & Jack, 2016; Pazarbasioglu et al., 2020; Aiken et al., 2020), there is limited causal evidence on their efficacy (Gentilini, 2022; WFP, 2023). We show that digital payments can address basic needs during a humanitarian crisis. We conducted a randomized evaluation among very poor, mostly tech-illiterate female-headed households in Afghanistan with digital transfers of $45 every two weeks for two months. Digital aid led to significant improvements in nutrition and in mental well-being. We find high usage rates, no evidence of diversion by the Taliban despite rigorous checks, and that 80% of recipients would prefer digital aid rather than pay a 2.5% fee to receive aid in cash. Conservative assumptions put the cost of delivery under 7 cents per dollar, which is 10 cents per dollar less than the World Food Program’s global figure for cash-based humanitarian assistance. These savings could help reduce hunger without additional resources. Asked to predict our findings, policymakers and experts underestimated beneficiaries' ability to use digital transfers and overestimated the likelihood of diversion and the costs of delivery. Such misperceptions might impede the adoption of new technologies during crises. These results highlight the potential for digital aid to deliver more resources to vulnerable populations.

Agriculture is a key sector in the Zambian economy that provides economic opportunities for approximately 80% of the population. However, Zambia still faces a range of demand and supply-side constraints, and this project aims to fill this knowledge gap. Constraints such as high costs of input, poor infrastructure, limited use of good agricultural practices, and lack of access to finance and markets are crucial in enabling the agricultural sector to grow. This article examines factors which affect productivity, as well as the underlying reasons which disincentivise farmers from investing in farming as a business. The article relies on existing research, qualitative and quantitative data collected through stakeholder consultations. The findings seek to contribute to improved decision-making by policymakers, thereby contributing to sustainable agricultural development in Zambia.