Registration is now open for the international expert conference ‘Fragile Lives 2024‘! The conference, which will take place on 1-2 October 2024, will host a unique mix of experts from academia, policy, and practice speaking on the cutting edge of research and programming on three themes: Key speakers include: Beyond that, the conference will include […]
Project Background During times of crisis, people require essential assistance like food, water, psychosocial support, and medical aid. In a time where instability and conflict are once again becoming more common, it is ever more important to understand the people who experience this instability, including their livelihood strategies, coping mechanisms, and their socio-cultural contexts. Beyond […]
On the 17th and 18th of April, the world of peacemaking descended upon Berlin to attend the Berghof Foundation’s new conference: The Berlin Moot. Under the theme of ‘Reshaping Peace’, more than 300 experts from around the world came together to take stock on the current state of peacemaking and discuss concrete suggestions for the […]
We study how the stringency of policy measures to counter the COVID-19 pandemic affects individuals’ trust in formal institutions. Drawing on micro-level panel data from Germany spanning an 18-month period from the onset of the pandemic, we show that, on average, there is a pronounced negative relationship between the stringency level of COVID-19 countermeasures and […]
This brief is a policy-focused summary of our research on the complexities of financing peace agreements.
Our research on the complexities of financing peace agreements delves into the understudied intersection of funding and peacebuilding processes.
This report contains findings from an impact assessment of SPARK’s programme LEAD 2, focussing on its success in supporting new entrepreneurs.
This report presents our findings on LEAD 2’s effects on new start-ups and existing SMEs, thereby assessing the efficacy of jobs-based programming in promoting stability and economic development in the region.
ISDC is looking for qualified bidders for data collection in Sierra Leone and Guinea.
The integration of refugees into host countries’ formal labor markets is increasingly recommended as a durable solution to forced migration. Yet, this policy response is a contentious political topic with little empirical evidence, especially in low- and middle-income host countries available to support policy. This article examines the impacts of integrating Syrian refugees into Jordan’s […]
There is growing evidence that ethnic divisions and conflict experiences affect social capital and economic interactions in both positive and negative ways. We conduct a set of experiments measuring social capital in Kenya between the two largest ethnic groups, the Luo and Kikuyu, who experienced violence in the 2007 and 2008 post-electoral riots. Our findings […]
PeaceFIELD2 aims to – through a series of impact evaluations in Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa – close a knowledge gap on what type of peacebuilding interventions work where.
Political violence is a major impediment to economic development, damaging social, physical and human capital. By contrast, the manner in which violence influences prosocial behaviors is less clear cut, even though these behaviors likely contribute to post-conflict outcomes at individual and aggregate levels. We propose that the standard routes through which the experience of violence […]
Project background Youth unemployment is a key development and social challenge in fragile places. Not only does fragility harm opportunities within, but high numbers of idle young people can contribute to fragility. To overcome this concern, SPARK has implemented the LEAD 2 program in Somalia and Tunisia – a program designed to help young entrepreneurs […]
Dr. Tatiana Orozco Garcia is a post-doctoral Researcher at ISDC. She obtained her Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Göttingen in October 2023 on the intersection of development and behavioral economics. In particular, her doctoral thesis focuses on peacebuilding and intra-household decision-making. Tatiana’s current work at ISDC entails designing impact evaluations and experimental studies […]
Paulina Rebolledo is a Researcher at ISDC. Her research interests include development and cultural economics, mainly the design and analysis of policies that promote inclusive growth in developing economies. At ISDC, Paulina is currently working on the evaluation of programs by the UN Peacebuilding Fund (PBF), located in Mali, Sudan, and Guatemala. Paulina has previously […]
Dr. Lame Ungwang is a postdoctoral researcher at ISDC, Berlin. Her research revolves around applied microeconomics, impact evaluations, and the use of experimental methods and behavioural economics-informed policies in low-income settings. Lame’s current work entails designing impact evaluations and experimental studies in the context of peacebuilding programming in settings affected by conflict across Africa and […]
Dr. Neil T. N. Ferguson is the Director of the Peacebuilding Research Program at ISDC. He obtained his PhD in Economics from Heriot-Watt University in July 2013, focussing on theoretical and empirical analysis about the role of multiple aggressors in civil conflicts. His current research interests lie in the analysis of peacebuilding interventions, on the […]
