Preventing Islamic radicalization: experimental evidence on anti-social behavior

On 29 May 2021, Pedro Vicente, Professor of Economics at Nova School of Business and Economics (Nova SBE), discusses a recent research that assesses the impact of two randomized interventions aiming at preventing violence related to the radicalization of young people in Mozambique.

The presentation is based on the working paper (in progress) ‘Preventing Violent Islamic Radicalization: Experimental Evidence on Anti-social Behavior’. 

The presentation will be in Portuguese. 

Please note that the presentations will be recorded and that screen shots may be taken during the event. The presentation slides and the recording will be shared on the Inclusive growth in Mozambique programme website and with the seminar participants soon after the event.

About the research 

Violence perpetrated by radicalized Muslims is a major problem around the world. Sponsored by the main Islamic authority in Mozambique, the authors of the paper, Pedro C. Vicente and Inês Vilela, carried out two randomized interventions to prevent violence related to youth radicalization: a religious campaign against extremist views of Islam, targeting change in beliefs; and a training module on entrepreneurship and employment, aiming to increase the opportunity cost of conflict. The measurement focused on anti-social behavior in a Joy-of-destruction lab game. We find that only the religious treatment decreased the propensity to destroy payoffs of others. Consistently, surveys show increased trust in state and decreased support for extremism.

About the IGM Seminar Series  

The online IGM Seminar Series provides a space to discuss research themes with a focus on the challenges of promoting inclusive growth in Mozambique at a time of overlapping crises: the economic and financial crisis of hidden debt, the climate crisis, and the global health crisis.