This paper uses international trade data toexamine the effects of climate shocks on economicactivity. At the aggregate level, MelissaDell, Benjamin F. Jones, and Benjamin A.Olken (2008) (hereafter, DJO) have demonstratedthat higher temperatures in a given yearreduce the growth rate of GDP per...

The first two chapters of this thesis investigate a possibly fundamental aspect of technological progress. If knowledge accumulates as technology progresses, then successive generations of innovators may face an increasing educational burden, forcing them to spend longer periods in education...