Abstract: We examine the relationship between food insecurity and urban social disorder, featuring the degree of inequality andlevelsof governmentalrepression. Wedevelopaformaltheoreticalmodel,andourempiricalresults suggestthat food price volatility contributes significantly to conflicteventsasmeasuredbythePRIO Urban Social Disorder data. We measure vertical inequality using the V-DEM egalitarian index, which is negatively significant; greater inequality sparks unrest. Inter-grouphorizontalinequalityisalsostatistically significantly relatedtotherisk of food riots. Government transfers are weakly associated with reducing conflict incidence. Governmental repression, in contrast, is associated with food riots across our estimations.
Keywords: food insecurity; urban unrest; inequality JEL Classification: D63; D74; I 38
