Climate, desertification, and local human development: evidence from 1564 regions around the world

Abstract

How global warming affects human development is a central question for economists as well as social scientists. While most of the literature has focused on the impact of weather on income, less is known on the relationship between climate and local human development. This paper considers shocks in precipitation, temperature, and an original measure of soil aridity to first exploit the association between climate warming and human development, and second, on its dimensions. We show that while precipitations do not have a significant long-term impact on human development growth, variations in temperature and potential evapotranspiration negatively affect two of the three determinants of the Human Development Index, namely life expectancy at birth and education. These results suggest that other climate indicators, such as the potential evapo-transpiration of the soil, should be considered in addition to the standard indicators, when evaluating the localized economic effects of climate change.

The impact of climate change on the Palestinian sectoral reallocation of labor

“…Climate change has emerged as one of the most pressing global challenges, with wide-ranging implications for economies and societies globally (Abbas et al 2023). The effects of climate change on economic and human capital growth and development are a subject of debate in the literature, where it is argued they entail a combination of outcomes (Malpede and Percoco 2023).…”

“…It was revealed that there is a significant association between weather shocks and diminished investment rates, as well as decreased labor productivity; the impact of these shocks was found to be more pronounced in countries with lower income levels (Acevedo et al 2020). A recent study pointed to increased precipitation and temperature being associated with an improved Human Development Index; the inclusion of potential evapotranspiration counteracts the advantages of higher precipitation, particularly in economies heavily dependent on agriculture (Malpede and Percoco 2023).…”