By Guest blogger originally posted at Development that Works By:
Ana Maria Díaz Assistant Professor, School of Economics,
Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá, Colombia The Colombian armed
conflict has generated a considerable amount of evidence based
research. So much so that many have started to refer to it as
“violence-metrics”. This literature can be grouped in three
categories: descriptive studies that show how the conflict has
evolved both geographically and chronologically; studies that
look into its causes, and third, research that focuses on the
costs of the conflict. Among the descriptive studies Granada,
Vargas and Restrepo analyze the conflict looking at its
evolution over time. They identify three stages: territorial
expansion (1990-1996), flare-up (1996-2002) y re-arrangement
(2003-2008). Botero and Sánchez look into the geographic and
time dynamics in armed actions, combats, and political
homicides, and according to their incidence, classify local
municipalities. In both Ávila (2010) and Ávila and Val