Does global warming worsen poverty and inequality? An updated review

C-Tier
Journal: Journal of Economic Surveys
Year: 2024
Volume: 38
Issue: 5
Pages: 1873-1905

Score contribution per author:

0.335 = (α=2.01 / 3 authors) × 0.5x C-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

We offer an updated and comprehensive review of recent studies on the impacts of climate change, particularly global warming, on poverty and inequality, paying special attention to data sources as well as empirical methods. While studies consistently find negative impacts of higher temperatures on poverty across different geographical regions, with higher vulnerability especially in poorer Sub‐Saharan Africa, there is inconclusive evidence on climate change impacts on inequality. Further analyzing a recently constructed global database at the subnational unit level derived from official national household income and consumption surveys, we find that temperature change has larger impacts in the short term and more impacts on chronic poverty than transient poverty. The results are robust to different model specifications and measures of chronic poverty and are more pronounced for poorer countries. Our findings offer relevant inputs into current efforts to fight climate change.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:bla:jecsur:v:38:y:2024:i:5:p:1873-1905
Journal Field
General
Author Count
3
Added to Database
2026-01-25