The Impact of Temperature on Productivity and Labor Supply: Evidence from Indian Manufacturing

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Somanathan, E.; Somanathan, Rohini; Sudarshan, Anant; Tewari, Meenu
• 署名单位: Indian Statistical Institute; Indian Statistical Institute Delhi; Delhi School of Economics; University of Chicago; University of North Carolina; University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF POLITICAL ECONOMY
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0022-3808
• DOI: 10.1086/713733
• 发表日期: 2021
• 页码: 1797-1827
• 关键词: climate-change; adaptation; heat

摘要

Hotter years are associated with lower economic output in developing countries. We show that the effect of temperature on labor is an important part of the explanation. Using microdata from selected firms in India, we estimate reduced worker productivity and increased absenteeism on hot days. Climate control significantly mitigates productivity losses. In a national panel of Indian factories, annual plant output falls by about 2% per degree Celsius. This response appears to be driven by a reduction in the output elasticity of labor. Our estimates are large enough to explain previously observed output losses in cross-country panels.