Abstract
The ability of people to work underpins most economic outcomes. Using data from the nationally representative India Human Development Survey (IHDS-II), with pre-scheduling of interview locations ensuring plausibly random assignment of temperature treatment to respondent, we evidence the impact of short-term (within-month) high temperatures on self-evaluated ability to work, and how that impact depends on individual living conditions. Other things equal a hot day (one in which maximum daytime temperature exceeds 37.7 °C (100°F)) increases inability to work across the month by about 7%, or 1/20th of a day. Electricity to the home and cooler ownership have important but partial protective effects, we find no such evidence for piped water supply.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 102786 |
Number of pages | 16 |
Journal | Journal of Development Economics |
Volume | 155 |
Early online date | 27 Nov 2021 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Mar 2022 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Heyes is a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair (CRC) in Environmental Economics. Heyes acknowledge financial support for this project from the CRC and from SSHRC under Insight Grant project #435-2020-0100 entitled “Heat and the Indian Economy”. We are grateful to John Haisken-Denew, Sandeep Kapur, Myra Yazbeck, Richard Tol, Alan Winters, Dana Andersen, Nicolas Ziebarth, Ian Mackenzie, David Byrne, Quentin Grafton and seminar participants at University of Melbourne, Australian National University, University of Queensland, University of Manitoba, University of Alberta and University of Sussex, two referees and Editor of this journal Andrew Foster for very constructive feedback and advice. Errors are ours.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Elsevier B.V.
Keywords
- Climate impacts
- Climate resilience
- Effective labor supply
- Mitigation
- Temperature
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Development
- Economics and Econometrics