Extractive Institutions of a Countryside at War: Evidence From Colombia

ABSTRACT Which extractive institutions perpetuate rural poverty in conflict‐affected regions? Based upon neo‐institutionalism, I examine poverty determinants across 1122 Colombian municipalities (2011–2020). Although land concentration appears to reduce poverty, correcting for endogeneity reverses this relationship, confirming its function as an extractive institution that restricts land property rights. Technical progress consistently reduces misery. Centre periphery dynamics—particularly infrastructure deficits and educational exclusion—corroborated by spatial autocorrelation prove decisive. Forced displacement and coca cultivation, rather than direct violence, drive conflict‐related poverty. Effective peace transition requires transforming informal extractive norms—clientelistic land access, technological aversion, spatial exclusion and violence as conflict resolution—alongside formal institutional reforms.