Households in Times of War: Adaptation Strategies during the Nepal Civil War

This paper analyses short and medium term consequences of the Nepalese
civil war on rural households livelihoods and on the inter-group distribution
of income. Conclusions rely on two very rich datasets: the Nepal Living
Standards Survey collected before, during and after the war and data on
the number of killings by month and village during the eleven years of the
conflict. Using the survey timing as a quasi-natural experiment, results
indicate that in the short-run all households loose, but high castes by a
larger extent. Short-term coping strategies determine medium term diverg-
ing recovery paths. Non-high castes allocate more labour in agriculture and
loose more in the medium term. High castes diversify their income sources,
notably by relying on migration, which allows them to recover.