Can Technology Mitigate the Impact of Heat on Labor Productivity? Experimental Evidence from India

Anna Custers, Prathap Kasina, Deepak Saraswat () and Anjali P. Verma
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Anna Custers: World Bank
Prathap Kasina: Innovations for Poverty Action
Anjali P. Verma: University of Texas at Austin

No 2022-10, Working papers from University of Connecticut, Department of Economics

Abstract: This paper analyses the role of technology in reducing heat-induced labor productivity losses. For this, we use a field experiment in India which randomized the use of productivity-augmenting digital mode versus classic paper-and-pen mode for conducting 2000 household surveys. Combining this experimentally induced variation in survey mode with day-to-day variation in temperature, we estimate the impact of survey mode on surveyor productivity as temperature rises. We find that as temperature rises and working conditions start to deteriorate, using digital-mode results in 5 per-cent higher surveyor-productivity compared to paper surveys. These relative productivity gains are mainly concentrated in extremely hot days - where the adverse impact of heat is likely at its peak. Further analysis shows that these impacts are not driven by differences in effort of surveyors or differences in the characteristics of respondents, thereby pointing to the role of technology in reducing the adverse effects of heat.

Keywords: Temperature; Labor Productivity; Mode of Survey; Productivity Augmenting Technology (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J24 M11 Q51 Q55 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 33 pages
Date: 2022-03
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dev, nep-eff and nep-exp
Note: Deepak Saraswat is the corresponding author
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