TY  - JOUR
AU  - Dell,Melissa
AU  - Jones,Benjamin F.
AU  - Olken,Benjamin A.
TI  - Climate Change and Economic Growth: Evidence from the Last Half Century
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 14132
PY  - 2008
Y2  - June 2008
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w14132
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w14132.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Melissa Dell
Department of Economics
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
50 Memorial Drive, Cambridge MA 02142
E-Mail: mdell@mit.edu

Benjamin Jones
Northwestern University
Kellogg School of Management
Department of Management and Strategy
2001 Sheridan Road
Evanston, IL  60208
Tel: 847/491-3177
Fax: 847/467-1777
E-Mail: bjones@kellogg.northwestern.edu

Benjamin A. Olken
Department of Economics
MIT
50 Memorial Drive
Cambridge, MA  02142-1347
Tel: 617/588-1437
Fax: 617/868-2742
E-Mail: bolken@nber.org
AB  - This paper uses annual variation in temperature and precipitation over the past 50 years to examine the impact of climatic changes on economic activity throughout the world. We find three primary results. First, higher temperatures substantially reduce economic growth in poor countries but have little effect in rich countries. Second, higher temperatures appear to reduce growth rates in poor countries, rather than just the level of output. Third, higher temperatures have wide-ranging effects in poor nations, reducing agricultural output, industrial output, and aggregate investment, and increasing political instability. Analysis of decade or longer climate shifts also shows substantial negative effects on growth in poor countries. Should future impacts of climate change mirror these historical effects, the negative impact on poor countries may be substantial.
ER  -