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This study investigates the relationship between the management of development aid and violent
conflict in Africa. I exploit variation in World Bank project management quality driven by the
assignment of project leaders of varying ability, combined with geo-coded data on all projects linked
to performance report cards. I find that better project management reduces violent conflict across
sub-national aid receiving regions. Poorly-managed projects increase conflict while well-managed
projects do the opposite. Project monitoring is particularly important, and management matters
most in regions with a recent history of warfare and for large projects that involve the transfer of
appropriable resources.
