Temperature Variability and Mortality: Evidence from 16 Asian Countries

Asian Development Review 35:2

30 Pages Posted: 6 Oct 2018

See all articles by Olivier Deschenes

Olivier Deschenes

University of California, Santa Barbara - College of Letters & Science - Department of Economics; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER); IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Date Written: September 1, 2018

Abstract

This paper presents an empirical analysis devised to understand the complex relationship between extreme temperatures and mortality in 16 Asian countries where more than 50% of the world's population resides. Using a country-year panel on mortality rates and various measures of high temperatures for 1960–2015, the analysis produces two primary findings. First, high temperatures significantly increase annual mortality rates in Asia. Second, this increase is larger in countries with cooler climates where high temperatures are infrequent. These empirical estimates can help inform climate change impact projections on human health for Asia, which is considered to be highly vulnerable to climate change. The results indicate that unabated warming until the end of the century could increase annual mortality rates by more than 40%, highlighting the need for concrete and rapid actions to help individuals and communities adapt to climate change.

Keywords: Asia, climate change, impact, mortality, temperature

JEL Classification: I10, Q54, O13

Suggested Citation

Deschenes, Olivier, Temperature Variability and Mortality: Evidence from 16 Asian Countries (September 1, 2018). Asian Development Review 35:2, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3249118

Olivier Deschenes (Contact Author)

University of California, Santa Barbara - College of Letters & Science - Department of Economics ( email )

UC Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, CA 93106
United States

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) ( email )

1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

IZA Institute of Labor Economics ( email )

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
40
Abstract Views
349
PlumX Metrics