The impact of climate change on developed economies

We use sub-national data to examine the relationship between temperature and growth within the United States and the European Union. Different from previous studies based on national data, we find that the optimal temperature is much lower. Because most of production takes place in areas with temperatures above the optimal temperature, projected temperature increases have significantly negative impact on the economic growth of the United States and the European Union. Our results suggest more proactive climate policy. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.