In the early 2000s, economic models of why people participate in violence dominated both international development and security research and practice. In this talk, Rebecca Wolfe will provide insights about the shortcomings of these models, and how they evolved over the last 20 years. She will discuss my own research on this topic from sub-Saharan Africa, Afghanistan and the Middle East, as well as others. Additionally, Rebecca shall discuss how she used these insights to inform programs in Kenya, Yemen and Guatemala, as well as how this work shifted US and UN policy regarding youth participation in violence.