Electoral Violence and Supply Chain Disruptions in Kenya's Floriculture Industry

Abstract Violent coniflicts, particularly at election times in Africa, are a common cause of instability and economic disruption. This paper studies how firms react to electoral violence using the case Kenyan ower exporters during 2008 post-election as an example. The induced large negative supply shock that reduced exports primarily through workers' absence had heterogeneous effects: larger those with direct contractual relationships export markets suffered smaller production losses workers. On demand side, global buyers were not able shift sourcing located areas directly affected by nor neighboring Ethiopian suppliers. Consistent difficulties insuring against supply-chain risk disruptions caused violence, ramp up shipments just before subsequent 2013 presidential mitigate risk.