LIBERIA SURVEYS
Over the last three years, I have carried out two large-scale survey projects in Liberia (together with Cyrus Samii). These studies served both academic and policy purposes. The first round of surveying, conducted in 2008 in partnership with the Liberia Institute of Statistics & Geo-spatial Information Services (LISGIS), was mainly a retrospective survey that sought to assess local impacts of the United Nations Operation in Liberia (UNMIL) on security and socioeconomic outcomes on the part of former civil war combatants and ordinary Liberians. It targeted a random sample of 1600 individuals (500 ex-combatants and 1100 civilians), drawn from 36 communities accross the country. "Click here to see the areas where surveys were conducted." Funding for this study came from the Folke Bernadotte Academy--a think tank of the Swedish Government's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
A second round of surveying, in part commissioned by the United Nations' Office of Internal Oversights Services (UN-OIOS) to evaluate impacts of UNMIL on the local population, was carried out from December 2009 to January 2010. In additional to investigating security and socioeconomic outcomes, a key focus in this round was to investigate the patterns and correlates of postwar political participation. The study targeted a sample of 1500 respondents (450 former combatants and 1050 non-combatants) in 70 communities across Liberia. We embeded a series of beharioral activities in the survey and involved community members in behavioral games to measures the political and social outcomes of interest. "Click here to see the areas where surveys were conducted."
Click on the links in bold to view working papers and policy reports:
Technical appendix
� Sampling design and technical appendix
Working Paper on UNMIL's Impacts
� "The Subtle Micro-Effects of Peacekeeping: Evidence from Liberia,"
--Paper presented at the 106th annual meeting of the American Political Science Association in Washigton, DC, September 2010.
IED-OIOS Report
� �Quantitative Impact Evaluation of the United Nations Mission in Liberia: Final Report� (with Cyrus Samii). --Final report for a local population survey commissioned by IED-OIOS.
--The results of the study were used in the preparation of the following report to the United Nations General Assembly ( GA report A/64/712)
FBA Report
� �On-the ground Assessment of Peacekeeping Operations: A Micro-level Study of the Effectiveness of the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL)�
--Final report for a local population survey sponsored by the Folke Bernadotte Academy, an agency of the Swedish Government.