Long-term impacts of exposure to high temperatures on human capital and economic productivity

Ram Fishman, Paul Carrillo and Jason Russ

Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 2019, vol. 93, issue C, 221-238

Abstract: Weather anomalies have a range of adverse contemporaneous impacts on health and socio-economic outcomes. This paper tests if temperature anomalies around the time of birth can have long-term impacts on individuals' economic productivity. Using unique data sets on historical weather and earnings, place and date of birth of all 1.5 million formal employees in Ecuador, we find that individuals who have experienced in-utero temperatures that are 1 °C above average are less educated and earn about 0.7% less as adults. Results are robust to alternative specifications and falsification tests and suggest that warming may have already caused adverse long-term economic impacts.

Keywords: Climate change; Economic impacts; Human capital; Fetal origins; O13; O15; J24; Q54; Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (43)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jeeman:v:93:y:2019:i:c:p:221-238

DOI: 10.1016/j.jeem.2018.10.001

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