Author(s): Anuar Sapargalievich Maikanov, Meruyert Bejsenovna Muratkhanova, Aigul Turekhanovna Ismagulova, Bakyt Akylbaevna Zhussipova, Anel Rahmetzhanovna Yensebayeva,
The current research was aimed to address the question of whether economic inequality might bear an impact on terrorist activity. For this purpose, a meta-analysis of relevant independent studies on the topic was carried out. Overall, the analysis included four studies comprising 6,567 observations. In spite of the fact that the combined effect size expressed as Pearson’s correlation coefficient turned out to be significant, this effect size was almost equal to zero (r = -0.02; 95% CI: -0.02 to -0.01; P <0.001), and therefore no actual relationship between financial inequality level and terrorist activity could be concluded. Given a low quantity of the included studies, these results should be treated carefully. The issue of financial inequality as a factor in the development of terrorism requires further research into the causes of this phenomenon. Some aspects of this subject have been described and explained, while others remain a matter of further investigation.