The Colombian Municipalities and Armed Conflict. A look at the Consequences on the Effectiveness of the Performance of Local Governments

In Colombia, the coexistence of democracy and armed conflict is considered to be a paradox (Posada 2006). This work intends to shed light on the consequences of armed conflict on the local levels of government, particularly on the effectiveness of the Colombian municipalities in providing basic services. In order to do that, I use municipal data from 2005 and, through an econometric analysis that includes spatial correlations, evaluate the impact of armed conflict on several health, education and basic sanitation indicators. The results show that armed conflict has affected the government effectiveness in providing such services. This leads one to think that, at least at the local levels, armed conflict would be putting at risk one of the basic principles of decentralization, the capacity to satisfy citizens’ needs through public service provision.