Journal
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS
Volume 3, Issue 9, Pages -Publisher
IOP Publishing Ltd
DOI: 10.1088/2515-7620/abffa3
Keywords
climate change; extreme heat; labor income; vulnerability; wealth; climate damages
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Rising temperatures can lead to reduced labor income, with humidity and vulnerability exacerbating the effects. Projections suggest that wealthier regions will experience smaller earnings impacts from heat compared to poorer regions.
Hotter temperature can reduce labor productivity, work hours, and labor income. The effects of heat are likely to be a joint consequence of both exposure and vulnerability. Here we explore the impacts of heat on labor income in the US, using regional wealth as a proxy for vulnerability. We find that one additional day >32 degrees C (90 degrees F) lowers annual payroll by 0.04%, equal to 2.1% of average weekly earnings. Accounting for humidity results in slightly more precise estimates. Proxying for wealth with dividend payments we find smaller impacts of heat in counties with higher average wealth. Temperature projections for 2040-50 suggest that earnings impacts may be 95% smaller for US counties in the richest decile relative to the poorest. Considering the within country distribution of vulnerability, in addition to exposure, to climate change could substantially change estimated within-country differences between the rich and poor in income losses from climate change.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available