Temperature Shocks and Economic Growth: Evidence from the Last Half Century
Name
Olken_Temperature Shocks.pdf
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788.58 KB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
e75962b7e2469e401fbfa36eb59e1ac8
Author(s)
Dell, Melissa Lynne
Jones, Benjamin F.
Olken, Benjamin A.
Date Issued
July 2012
Journal
American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics
Publisher
American Economic Association
Citation
Dell, Melissa, Benjamin F Jones, and Benjamin A Olken. “Temperature Shocks and Economic Growth: Evidence from the Last Half Century.” American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics 4.3 (2012): 66–95. Web.
Version
Author's final manuscript
Abstract
This paper uses historical fluctuations in temperature within countries to identify its effects on aggregate economic outcomes. We find three primary results. First, higher temperatures substantially reduce economic growth in poor countries. Second, higher temperatures may reduce growth rates, not just the level of output. Third, higher temperatures have wide-ranging effects, reducing agricultural output, industrial output, and political stability. These findings inform debates over climate's role in economic development and suggest the possibility of substantial negative impacts of higher temperatures on poor countries.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Economics
Terms of Use
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1257/mac.4.3.66
