Does Inequality Matter for Conflicts? Evidence from Religious Conflicts in India

This article documents the link between conflicts and income inequality, and shows the benefits of disaggregating inequality indexes by groups. More precisely, it tests the link between three inequality measures and religious conflicts of low intensity in Indian villages. The three inequality measures are the overall (or vertical) inequality, and its decomposition for religious groups, into a between-group component (horizontal) and a within-group component. The results show that the two components of aggregated inequality have opposite links with conflicts. Indeed, on the one hand, within-group inequality appears to increase the incidence of conflicts between religious groups. On the other hand, when between-group inequality plays a significant part, it decreases the incidence of conflicts. Income distribution is thus a correlate of conflict incidence, even for low intensity conflicts. Moreover, the documented empirical relation is consistent with the most recent theories, which underline the importance of the mobilization constraint for conflict incidence. On the contrary, results are inconsistent with an interpretation of conflicts as triggered by greed or grievance.