Comment on Alan Krueger and Jitka Maleckova , “ Education , Poverty , and Terrorism : Is There a Causal Connection ? ”

The opinions of several Nobel Peace Prize winners on the root causes of terrorism were described Laureates quoted highlight the role of low education and poverty in terrorism: " What is it that seduces some young people to terrorism? It simplifies things. The fanatic has no questions, only answers. Education is the way to eliminate terrorism. " (Elie Wiesel) " If the mind is more open, that will automatically bring less fear. Education can narrow the gap between appearances and reality. The reality is that we and 'they' are not different. " (Dalai Lama) " At the bottom of terrorism is poverty. That is the main cause. Then there are other religious, national, and ideological differences. " (Kim Dae Jung) " External circumstances such as poverty and a sense of grievance and injustice can fill people with resentment and despair to the point of desperation. " (Desmond Tutu) In this paper, Alan Krueger and Jitka Maleckova take the theory that low education and poverty breed terrorism, and subject it to empirical scrutiny. There are many reasons why this task is difficult. Terrorist incidents are (fortunately) rare enough in most countries that cross-sectional and time-series analyses of how poverty and education are related to terrorism are not easily conducted. Furthermore, terrorism is difficult to define. The line between terrorism and violence that is not politically motivated is often blurry, as is the line between terrorism and valid military action. What is viewed as " terrorism " by one group may be viewed as " freedom fighting " by another. In this comment, I follow Krueger and Maleckova and define " terrorism " as armed attacks on civilians that are designed to achieve political ends.