Climate Change, Mortality, and Adaptation: Evidence from Annual Fluctuations in Weather in the US
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Greenstone_Climate Change.pdf
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778.65 KB
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Author(s)
Greenstone, Michael
Olivier, Deschênes
Date Issued
October 2011
Journal
American Economic Journal: Applied Economics
Publisher
American Economic Association
Citation
Deschênes, Olivier, and Michael Greenstone. “Climate Change, Mortality, and Adaptation: Evidence from Annual Fluctuations in Weather in the US.” American Economic Journal: Applied Economics 3.4 (2011): 152–185. © 2011 AEA
Version
Final published version
Abstract
Using random year-to-year variation in temperature, we document the relationship between daily temperatures and annual mortality rates and daily temperatures and annual residential energy consumption. Both relationships exhibit nonlinearities, with significant increases at the extremes of the temperature distribution. The application of these results to "business as usual" climate predictions indicates that by the end of the century climate change will lead to increases of 3 percent in the age-adjusted mortality rate and 11 percent in annual residential energy consumption. These estimates likely overstate the long-run costs, because climate change will unfold gradually allowing individuals to engage in a wider set of adaptations. (JEL I12, Q41, Q54)
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Economics
Terms of Use
Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1257/app.3.4.152
