The relationship between homicides from armed conflict and efficiency of educational quality in Colombia

This study analyzes the relationship between homicides due to the armed conflict and educational efficiency in 912 municipalities in Colombia between 2014 and 2018, through the Saber 11 standardized test and school pass rates. The main objective is to calculate the potential loss of efficiency in the municipalities due to the armed conflict; to do this, a conditional robust non-parametric approach is applied, incorporating armed conflict as an environmental variable. Results show, primarily, that armed conflict deaths in the municipality are associated with lower educational efficiency; additionally, conflict in both local and neighboring municipalities is found to be significantly correlated with level of educational inefficiency. •Conflict-education link explored in Colombian municipalities.•Post-2016 peace agreement period studied.•First to measure armed conflict's relation on educational efficiency.•Novel use of standardized tests for conflict analysis.•Spatial contagion models incorporate neighboring conflict intensity