National Security.

• Position: Program and Working Group Meetings

The NBER's Working Group on National Security, directed by NBER President Martin Feldstein of Harvard University, met in Cambridge on February 28. The following papers were discussed:

David Clingingsmith, Case Western Reserve University; Asim Ijaz Khwaja, Harvard University; and Michael Kremer, Harvard University and NBER, "Islam's Melting Pot: How the Hajj Impacts the Pilgrim"

Matthew A. Hanson, College of William and Mary, "The Economics of Roadside Bombs"

Philippe Martin and Thierry Mayer, Paris School of Economics, and Mathias Thoenig, University of Geneva, "Civil Wars and International Trade"

Peter Berck, University of California, Berkeley, and Jonathan Lipow, Oberlin College, "Military Conscription and the (Socially) Optimal Number of Boots on the Ground"

Eli Berman, University of California, San Diego and NBER, and David D. Laitin, Stanford University, "Religion, Terrorism and Public Goods: Testing the Club Model" (NBER Working Paper No. 13725)

Naomi E. Feldman and Bradley J. Ruffle, Ben-Gurion University, "Religious Terrorism: A Cross-Country Analysis"

Stefano DellaVigna, University of California, Berkeley and NBER, and Eliana La Ferrara, University of Bocconi, "Detecting Illegal Arms Trade" (NBER Working Paper No. 13355)

Deepa Dhume, Harvard University, "Economic Prospects for Iraq: Encouraging Growth amid Security Challenges"

Kremer and his co-authors estimate the impact of the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca on pilgrims by comparing successful and unsuccessful applicants to a lottery that Pakistan uses to allocate Hajj visas. Pilgrim accounts stress that Hajj leads to a feeling of unity with fellow Muslims, but outsiders sometimes have feared that this could be accompanied by antipathy toward non-Muslims. The researchers find that participation in the Hajj increases observance of global Islamic practices, such as prayer and fasting, and reduces participation in localized practices and beliefs, such as using amulets and dowry. It increases belief in equality and compromise among ethnic groups and Islamic sects, and leads to more favorable attitudes toward women, including greater acceptance of women receiving education and working. Increased unity within the Islamic world is not accompanied by antipathy toward non-Muslims. Hajjis have increased belief in peace and in equality and compromise among religions. The evidence suggests that these changes are more likely attributable to interaction with Hajjis from around the world and attendant...