Precipitation, Profits, and Pile-Ups

In considering the economic impacts of climatic changes, economists frequently use annual national income as a proxy for social welfare. I show that such studies suffer from a significant bias, arising from the fact that such models typically ignore changes in mortality rates. Using panel data from Australia, I show that rainfall lowers traffic deaths, suggesting that the standard approach may underestimate the true economic cost of droughts.

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Year of publication:	2009-12
Authors:	Leigh, Andrew
Institutions:	Research School of Economics, College of Business and Economics
Subject:	national income \| social welfare \| rainfall \| traffic fatalities

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Extent:	application/pdf
Series:	CEPR Discussion Papers.
Type of publication:	Book / Working Paper
Notes:	Number 629
Classification:	I12 - Health Production: Nutrition, Mortality, Morbidity, Substance Abuse and Addiction, Disability, and Economic Behavior ; I31 - General Welfare; Basic Needs; Quality of Life ; J17 - Value of Life; Foregone Income ; Q25 - Water
Source:	RePEc - Research Papers in Economics

Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10008511764