Effects of Violence on Fertility

Violent conflict can produce profound and lasting changes in demographic behavior, yet its effects on fertility remain highly heterogeneous and context-dependent. This paper examines how conflict and post-conflict conditions shape fertility, focusing on the contrasting experiences of Rwanda and Liberia. Drawing on two recent empirical studies, it first considers the demographic consequences of the 1994 Rwandan genocide and the post-conflict effects of UN peacekeeping in Liberia. While existing economic literature largely conceptualizes war as an exogenous shock operating through economic and survival-related mechanisms, this paper argues that such an approach may overlook deliberate forms of demographic intervention. In particular, it examines systematic sexual violence as a potentially significant determinant of population-level fertility and as a mechanism through which conflict can intentionally reshape demographic structures. By connecting the economic literature on fertility responses to conflict with research on the strategic use of sexual violence, the paper highlights the biological, psychological, social and demographic consequences of wartime sexual violence. The analysis ultimately emphasizes the importance of incorporating gender-based violence and its broader demographic implications into the study of post-conflict population dynamics.