Evidence About the Link Between Education, Poverty and Terrorism Among Palestinians
Published in: Peace Economics, Peace Science and Public Policy, v. 13, iss. 1, article 2, 2007, 38 p
Posted on RAND.org on January 01, 2007
This paper investigates the ways in which terrorism is linked to education and poverty using data newly culled from Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) documentary sources. The paper presents a statistical analysis of the determinants of participation in terrorist activities by members of the Hamas and PIJ between the late 1980s and May 2002. The resulting evidence suggests that both higher education and standard of living are positively associated with participation in Hamas or PIJ and with becoming a suicide bomber, while being married significantly reduces the probability of participation in terrorist activities.
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