On the Relationship between Violent Conflict and Wages in Colombia

The paper investigates the relationship between forced displacement and wages in Colombia. Using data from the Quality of Life Survey (2011–2014), the authors analyze the differences in wages between those forced by violence to move to other regions, and those who moved for other reasons. Applying Propensity Score Matching techniques to compare workers from the two groups, the authors find that forced displacement is related to decreases of between 10 and 29 percent in the wages of males, and between 18 and 37 percent in the wages of females, relative to their counterparts. Thus, forced displacements are related to poorer labor market outcomes in terms of wages. The results are consistent with prior results showing that forced displacements due to violence are related to negative labor market outcomes.