Page 494 - Volume 2_CHANGES_merged_with links

Changes!

Commentary

LLDC & Fragile States Index (FSI)

Using the UK (FSI score = c 38) and the USA (FSI score = 38) as a reference point
15 of Africa’s 16 LLDC have a FSI score twice as high as that of the UK or the USA

LLDC & Fractionalisation

(Author : These figures measure ‘diversity’ but in essence may give some indication of the
propensity of a country’s population to ‘fracture’ )

Type of Diversity
LLDC Ethnic Linguistic
Uganda 0.93 0.92
Chad 0.86 0.86

CAR 0.83 0.83
Zambia 0.78 0.87
Burkina Faso 0.74 0.72

Ethiopia 0.72 0.81
Mali 0.69 0.84
Malawi 0.67 0.6

Niger 0.65 0.65
Zimbabwe 0.39 0.45
*****

LLDC & the number of coups since independence
5 of Africa’s 16 LLDC are also some of the countries most prone to coups

Burkina Faso 10 coups
Burundi 6 coups

Chad 6 coups
Ethiopia 5 coups
Central African Republic 5 coup

See the following :

Inequality, Coup-Proofing and Civil Wars
Using data on 148 countries between 1960 and 2008, I find that inequality

increases the overall risk of irregular leader removal but that its effect differs
across different forms of violence. In particular, while inequality fosters coups, it
has no discernible effect on the likelihood of civil war onset. I also provide

evidence consistent with my causal mechanisms:
(1) inequality creates greater threat to the rulers by fueling political instability;

(2) inequality reduces coup-proofing; and