Strategic Allocation of Development Projects in Post-Conflict Regions: A Gender Perspective for Colombia

We know little about the general geographic allocation of development projects in post-conflict regions, and specifically of gender-focused projects. In this study, we explore whether donor agencies prefer to work in safe places or dare to operate in conflict-affected zones. Using Colombia as a case study, we combine data on battle deaths from the UCDP Georeferenced Event Dataset (1994-2004) with georeferenced information on the location of development projects from the Colombia AIMS dataset (2006-2013) and manually geocode data for German-funded development projects (2012-2018) with gender as a significant objective. Using count models (N = 1120), we find a statistically strong and positive relationship: an increase in battle deaths increases the number of development projects (with and without gender-focus) in a municipality. Interaction models further reveal an amplification of this relationship for regions with a large proportion of female-headed households, as well as a high number of formally employed and literate women. A context-sensitive interpretation of our findings suggests that (1) development projects in general, and German-funded gender-focused projects in particular, dare to operate in post-conflict settings; (2) women may play an active role as community leaders and mobilizers to influence the allocation of development programs to certain regions.

Automated summary

This study examines the geographic allocation of development projects in post-conflict regions, focusing on gender-focused projects. The findings suggest that an increase in battle deaths is associated with an increase in the number of development projects, and this relationship is amplified in areas with a higher proportion of female-headed households and educated women. The study highlights the willingness of development projects, especially gender-focused ones funded by Germany, to operate in post-conflict settings. Women also play an active role in influencing the allocation of development programs to specific regions.