Pedro C. Vicente
Universidade Nova de Lisboa, NOVAFRICA, and BREAD
Inês Vilela
Royal Holloway – University of London, and NOVAFRICA
Abstract
Violence perpetrated by radicalized Muslims is a major problem around the world. We collaborated with the main Islamic authority in Mozambique, which sponsored two randomized interventions to prevent violence related to youth radicalization: a religious campaign against extremist views of Islam, targeting change in beliefs; and a training module on entrepreneurship and employment, aiming to increase the opportunity cost of conflict. Our measurement focuses on anti-social behavior in a Joy-of-destruction lab game. We find that only the religious treatment decreased the propensity to destroy payoffs of others. Consistently, surveys show increased trust in state and decreased support for extremism.
ISSN 2183-0843
Working Paper No 2008
September 2020