Towards Sustainable Return Policies for the Displaced Population: Why Are Some Displaced Households More Willing to Return than Others?

Civil wars and violence reverses economic development by imposing high economic and social costs (Collier et al, 2003). Countries at war confront a permanent loss of around two percent of GDP (Knight et al, 1996) and incomes, after a war of seven years of duration, are around 15 percent lower than had the war not happened (Collier, 1999). Moreover, the adverse economics of civil wars persist over time. After the end of the conflict, inflated military spending carry out, the loss of social capital is difficult to recoup, high mortality rates prevail and the psychological damage of war are large and highly persistent (Collier et al, 2003). The recognition of conflict as a key development issue has lead to a surge in the literature on conflict and conflict prevention.