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The impact of weather shocks on employment outcomes: evidence from South Africa

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 September 2022

Harriet Brookes Gray ,
Vis Taraz Open the ORCID record for Vis Taraz [Opens in a new window]  and
Simon D. Halliday
Harriet Brookes Gray
Affiliation:
Princeton University, Industrial Relations Section, Louis A. Simpson International Building, Princeton, NJ 08544
Vis Taraz*
Affiliation:
Department of Economics, Smith College, Wright Hall, 5 Chapin Drive, Northampton, MA 01063-6317
Simon D. Halliday
Affiliation:
School of Economics, University of Bristol, 12A Priory Rd, Bristol BS8 1TU, UK
*
*Corresponding author. E-mail: vtaraz@smith.edu
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Abstract

Climate change is increasing the frequency of extreme weather events, such as drought and heat waves. In this paper, we assess the impact of drought and high temperatures on the employment outcomes of working-age individuals in South Africa between 2008 and 2017. We merge high-resolution weather data with detailed individual-level survey data on labor market outcomes, and estimate causal impacts using a fixed effects framework. We find that increases in the occurrence of drought reduce overall employment. These effects are concentrated in the tertiary sector, amongst informal workers, and in provinces with a higher reliance on tourism. Taken together, our results suggest that the impacts of climate change will be felt unequally by South Africa's workers.

Keywords

employmentunemploymentclimate changedroughtSouth Africa

JEL classification

O12: Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development Q54: Climate • Natural Disasters and Their Management • Global Warming Q56: Environment and Development • Environment and Trade • Sustainability • Environmental Accounts and Accounting • Environmental Equity • Population Growth J21: Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure O55: Africa
Type
Research Article
Information
Environment and Development Economics , Volume 28 , Issue 3 , June 2023 , pp. 285 - 305
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press

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