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Weather Shocks and Labor Allocation: Evidence from Rural Brazil

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  • Danyelle Branco
  • José Féres

Abstract

We examine the effects of rainfall shocks on household work decisions in Brazil. We show that rural farming households increase labor supply in non‐agricultural sectors during drought episodes. An additional drought month per year is associated with greater likelihood of holding more than one job, lower share of agricultural employment, and more time spent performing a secondary job. Together, these findings suggest that households alter their labor decisions to mitigate the consequences of weather shocks.

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  • Danyelle Branco & José Féres, 2021. "Weather Shocks and Labor Allocation: Evidence from Rural Brazil," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 103(4), pages 1359-1377, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:ajagec:v:103:y:2021:i:4:p:1359-1377
    DOI: 10.1111/ajae.12171
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    Cited by:

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    2. Sen, Kritika & Villa, Kira M., 2022. "Rainfall shocks and adolescent school-work transition: Evidence from rural South Africa," 2022 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Anaheim, California 322383, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    3. Afridi, Farzana & Mahajan, Kanika & Sangwan, Nikita, 2022. "The gendered effects of droughts: Production shocks and labor response in agriculture," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    4. Ariel Ortiz-Bobea, 2021. "Climate, Agriculture and Food," Papers 2105.12044, arXiv.org.
    5. 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.
    6. Verena Preusse & Manuel Santos Silva & Linda Steinhübel & Meike Wollni, 2024. "Covid‐19 and agricultural labor supply: Evidence from the rural–urban interface of an Indian mega‐city," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 40(2), pages 391-415, April.
    7. C. A. K. Lovell, 2021. "The Pandemic, The Climate, and Productivity," CEPA Working Papers Series WP112021, School of Economics, University of Queensland, Australia.
    8. 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.
    9. Njuki, Eric, 2021. "Nonlinear weather and climate-induced effects on hired farm labor wages: Evidence from the U.S. Cornbelt," 2021 Annual Meeting, August 1-3, Austin, Texas 313959, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    10. Musungu, Arnold L. & Kubik, Zaneta & Qaim, Matin, 2023. "Drought Shocks and Labor Reallocation in Rural Africa: Evidence from Ethiopia," Discussion Papers 338675, University of Bonn, Center for Development Research (ZEF).
    11. Lijin Liu & Yilin Wu, 2024. "Drought shocks, adaptive strategies, and vulnerability to relative poverty," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 120(14), pages 12679-12703, November.
    12. Homma,Kirara & Abu Hayat Md. Saiful Islam & Matsuura,Masanori & Bethelhem Legesse Debela, 2024. "Weather shocks and child nutritional status in rural households in Bangladesh: Does labor allocation have a role to play?," IDE Discussion Papers 907, Institute of Developing Economies, Japan External Trade Organization(JETRO).
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    14. Mulungu, Kelvin & Kilimani, Nicholas, 2023. "Does forest access reduce reliance on costly shock-coping strategies? Evidence from Malawi," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 209(C).
    15. Luis Guillermo Becerra-Valbuena, 2021. "Droughts and Agricultural Adaptation to Climate Change," PSE Working Papers halshs-03420657, HAL.
    16. Homma, Kirara & Islam, Abu Hayat Md. Saiful & Matsuura, Masanori & Legesse Debela, Bethelhem, 2024. "Weather shocks and child nutritional status in rural Bangladesh: Does labor allocation have a role to play?," DARE Discussion Papers 2401, Georg-August University of Göttingen, Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development (DARE).
    17. Silvio Daidone & Francisco Pereira Fontes, 2023. "The role of social protection in mitigating the effects of rainfall shocks. Evidence from Ethiopia," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 60(3), pages 315-332, December.
    18. Julia Brewer & Ashley Larsen & Frederik Noack, 2024. "The land use consequences of rural to urban migration," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 106(1), pages 177-205, January.
    19. Fang, Ming & Jin, Songqing & Deininger, Klaus W., 2022. "Climate, land productivity and agricultural adaptation in Ukraine," 2022 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Anaheim, California 322437, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    20. Rodrigo Pérez-Silva & Mayarí Castillo & Chiara Cazzuffi, 2023. "Droughts and Local Labor Markets. Studying Heterogenous Effects on Women and Indigenous People in Chile," Economics of Disasters and Climate Change, Springer, vol. 7(2), pages 281-302, July.
    21. Luis Guillermo Becerra-Valbuena, 2021. "Droughts and Agricultural Adaptation to Climate Change," Working Papers halshs-03420657, HAL.
    22. Boyd, Chris, 2021. "Climate, Mothers’ Time-Use, and Child Nutrition: Evidence from Rural Uganda," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 315906, International Association of Agricultural Economists.

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