Heat, Humidity, and Infant Mortality in the Developing World

Michael Geruso and Dean Spears ()
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Dean Spears: University of Texas at Austin

No 11717, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: We study how extreme weather exposure impacts infant survival in the developing world. Our analysis overcomes the absence of vital registration systems in many poor countries by extracting birth histories from household surveys. Studying 53 developing countries that span five continents, we find impacts of hot days on infant morality that are an order of magnitude larger than corresponding estimates from rich country studies, with humidity playing an important role. The size and implied geographic distribution of harms documented here have the potential to significantly alter assessments of optimal climate policy.

Keywords: heat; humidity; mortality; neonatal mortality; development; climate damages (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I15 J1 J13 O15 Q54 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 33 pages
Date: 2018-07
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dev and nep-hea
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (25)

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Working Paper: Heat, Humidity, and Infant Mortality in the Developing World (2018)
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