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Climate Change and Labor Reallocation: Evidence from Six Decades of the Indian Census

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  • Maggie Liu
  • Yogita Shamdasani
  • Vis Taraz

Abstract

How do rising temperatures affect long-term labor reallocation in developing economies? In this paper we examine how increases in temperature impact structural transformation and urbanization within Indian districts between 1951 and 2011. We find that rising temperatures are associated with lower shares of workers in nonagricultural sectors, with effects intensifying over a longer time frame. Supporting evidence suggests that local demand effects play an important role: declining agricultural productivity under higher temperatures reduces the demand for nonagricultural goods and services, which subsequently lowers nonagricultural labor demand. Our results illustrate that rising temperatures limit sectoral and rural-urban mobility for isolated households.

Suggested Citation

  • Maggie Liu & Yogita Shamdasani & Vis Taraz, 2023. "Climate Change and Labor Reallocation: Evidence from Six Decades of the Indian Census," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 15(2), pages 395-423, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:aejpol:v:15:y:2023:i:2:p:395-423
    DOI: 10.1257/pol.20210129
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    Cited by:

    1. Gilli, Martino & Calcaterra, Matteo & Emmerling, Johannes & Granella, Francesco, 2024. "Climate change impacts on the within-country income distributions," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).
    2. Lyu, Zhuoyang & Yu, Li & Liu, Chen & Ma, Tiemeng, 2024. "When temperatures matter: Extreme heat and labor share," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).
    3. Li, Xiuqing & Mao, Hui & Fang, Lan, 2024. "The impact of rural human capital on household energy consumption structure: Evidence from Shaanxi Province in China," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 8, pages 1-10.
    4. Xie, Victoria Wenxin, 2024. "Labor market adjustment to extreme heat shocks: Evidence from Brazil," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 222(C), pages 266-283.
    5. Valenti, Giulia & Vona, Francesco, 2024. "Hot Wages: How Do Heat Waves Change the Earnings Distribution?," FEEM Working Papers 348848, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM).
    6. Christoph Albert & Paula Bustos & Jacopo Ponticelli, 2021. "The Effects of Climate Change on Labor and Capital Reallocation," NBER Working Papers 28995, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. Cui, Xiaomeng & Tang, Qu, 2024. "Extreme heat and rural household adaptation: Evidence from Northeast China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    8. Giulia Valenti & Francesco Vona, 2024. "Hot Wages: How Do Heat Waves Change the Earnings Distribution?," Working Papers 2024.31, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei.
    9. Feriga,Moustafa Amgad Moustafa Ahmed Moustafa & Lozano Gracia,Nancy & Serneels,Pieter Maria, 2024. "The Impact of Climate Change on Work : Lessons for Developing Countries," Policy Research Working Paper Series 10682, The World Bank.
    10. Moustafa Feriga & Mancy Lozano Gracia & Pieter Serneels, 2024. "The impact of climate change on work lessons for developing countries," CSAE Working Paper Series 2024-02, Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford.
    11. Tang, Yuwei & He, Zhenyu, 2024. "Extreme heat and firms' robot adoption: Evidence from China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    12. Meng Li & Bo Meng & Yong Geng & Fan Tong & Yuning Gao & Norihiko Yamano & Sunghun Lim & Joaquim Guilhoto & Kimiko Uno & Xiaohong Chen, 2025. "Inequitable distribution of risks associated with occupational heat exposure driven by trade," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 16(1), pages 1-11, December.
    13. Guimbeau, Amanda & Ji, Xinde James & Long, Zi & Menon, Nidhiya, 2024. "Ocean salinity, early-life health, and adaptation," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    14. Kaixing Huang & Qianqian Hong, 2024. "The impact of global warming on obesity," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 37(3), pages 1-32, September.
    15. Christoph Albert & Paula Bustos & Jacopo Ponticelli, 2024. "The effects of climate change on labor and capital reallocation," Economics Working Papers 1887, Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra.
    16. repec:ags:aaea22:335724 is not listed on IDEAS
    17. Guimbeau, Amanda & Ji, Xinde James & Menon, Nidhiya, 2024. "Climate Shocks, Intimate Partner Violence, and the Protective Role of Climate-Resilience Projects," IZA Discussion Papers 17529, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    18. Cui, Xiaomeng & Gafarov, Bulat & Ghanem, Dalia & Kuffner, Todd, 2024. "On model selection criteria for climate change impact studies," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 239(1).

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers
    • N35 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - Asia including Middle East
    • O13 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Agriculture; Natural Resources; Environment; Other Primary Products
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
    • O18 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Urban, Rural, Regional, and Transportation Analysis; Housing; Infrastructure
    • Q54 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Climate; Natural Disasters and their Management; Global Warming
    • R23 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population

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