By Colombe Ladreit for the IMF The negative economic effects of conflicts are larger and more persistent, partly reflecting a sharper impact of higher-intensity conflicts in these regions. Economies across the Middle East and Central Asia are more affected by conflicts—even a decade after a severe conflict, their income per capita remains about 10 percent lower. The idea that violent conflict reduces economic output is uncontroversial. However, the repercussions are notably harsher and longer lasting in these regions than in most others, as we show in a chapter of our latest Regional Economic …