The Relationship between Economic Structure and Political Violence in Latin America (1990-2019)

Abstract

This paper provides evidence about the relationship between economic structure and political violence in Latin American countries in the period 1990-2019. The empirical analysis suggests that manufacturing activities are negatively associated with the number of terroristic attacks. On the contrary it exists a positive relationship between mining activities and political violence. A further analysis suggests that the relative size of manufacturing with respect to mining sector is negatively associated to terroristic attacks occurrence. Such relationship becomes stronger when it is associated to high levels of trade openness.