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The connotations of suicide bombing are such that we often think of bombers as poor, desperate men from  untoward backgrounds.  As the recent discovery of  “Jihadi Jane” and Nigerian  has shown us, this is not the case.  Often, suicide bombers are men from middle-class families. The evidence remains mixed, however.

In a recent paper presentation at the Brookings Institute, in line with others he’d given previously,  Dr. Edward Sayer explored the connection between labor market conditions and Palestinian suicide bombers from Gaza and the West Bank. He finds that there is indeed some correlation between economic conditions and terrorism:

Contrary to the previous literature, this paper  finds that economic conditions are correlated with suicide terrorism. Specifically, deteriorating  local labor market conditions during the al-Aqsa Intifada account for nearly half of the increase in suicide bombings during that time.

As Israel continues instituting road blocks in the West Bank, it has increased its security situation, with suicide bombings falling to zero over the past several years.  However, as the paper points out, with a broken economy, it is not viable for the West Bank and could result in a new crop of suicide bombers.