Demography of Violence

In the past two years, I have started a major project on the demography of violence, particularly in Colombia. Together with collaborators at the Conflict Analysis Resource Center in Bogotá, I have investigated the dynamics of sex-ratios in Colombia from 1973-present.

In addition to the pure demographic measurement issues associated with this phenomenon, I am particularly interested in the social consequences of unbalanced sex ratios and a general climate of uncertainty brought about by extended conflict. In particular, how does this environment affect individual life history strategies, household formation, inter-household relations, and parental investment?

Representative Papers

Jones, J.H. and B.D. Ferguson. (2009) Demographic and social predictors of intimate partner violence in Colombia: A dyadic power perspective, Human Nature, 20(2): 184-203. (doi:10.1007/s12110-009-9064-6) [PDF]

Ferguson, B.D., J. Restrepo, and J.H. Jones. (2009) Missing men: The mortality costs of gun violence in Colombia 1985-2005, Working Paper.

Hacker, J.D., L.R. Hilde and J.H. Jones. (2010) The Impact of the American Civil War on Southern Marriage Patterns, Journal of Southern History, LXXVI(February): 1-32.

Jones, J.H. and B.D. Ferguson (2006) Excess male death leads to a severe marriage squeeze in Colombia, 1973-2005. Social Biology, 53(3-4): 140-151. [PDF]

Jones, J.H. The probability of maternal orphanhood under a generalized AIDS epidemic. Revise and resubmit.

Jones, J.H. and E. Zagheni (2010) Disease-Induced Mortality and Biased Social Structure, Working paper.