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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
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

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.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press

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