UN Peacekeeping and Households' Well‐Being in Civil Wars

Civil wars affect the economic conditions of households by disrupting economic transactions and harming theirpsychological well-being. To restore basic conditions for local economic recovery in conflict-torn regions, the internationalcommunity has only a limited number of tools at its disposal. We ask whether UN peacekeeping is one instrument to miti-gate the negative effect of conflict on households’ economic well-being. We argue that, by reducing violence and heighteningperceptions of safety, UN missions (i) encourage labor provision and economic exchanges, and (ii) instill confidence byreducing the psychological impact of daily stressors. Combining high-frequency household survey data and informationon subnational deployment of UN peacekeepers in South Sudan, we show that peacekeepers’ military presence improvessecurity (observed and perceived), which in turn revitalizes local economies and households’ subjective well-being. Theseimprovements ultimately boost households’ consumption, partially countering the negative effect of ongoing civil wars bykeeping local communities’ economy afloat.