The peace accord agreed late last year between the government and the FARC paramilitary group gives Colombia a historic opportunity to improve the living standards of all its people. More than half a century of conflict cost an estimated 220,000 lives and led over 5 million people to flee their homes, with severe consequences for the country’s prosperity, especially in the rural areas where violence was concentrated.

The accord makes a “peace dividend” of economic growth whose benefits are shared by every Colombian, not just some of those living in its big cities, a real possibility—and also a necessity—if the peace accord is to succeed in practice.

The Ford Foundation and the Economist Intelligence Unit released a new report considering Colombia’s challenges in the context of other countries that have emerged from internal conflict, to identify effective strategies and highlight potential pitfalls to be avoided in building a peaceful, inclusive economy.

Download the full report here and the Spanish version here.