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Can Climate Change Save Lives? A comment on “Economy-wide estimates of the implications of climate change: Human health"

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Listed:
  • Ackerman, Frank
  • Stanton, Elizabeth A.

Abstract

In a recent article in this journal, Francesco Bosello, Roberto Roson, and Richard Tol make the surprising prediction that the first stages of global warming will, on balance, save a large number of lives. Bosello et al. fail to substantiate this remarkable estimate, and they make multiple mistaken or misleading assumptions. They rely on research that identifies a simple empirical relationship between temperature and mortality, but ignores the countervailing effect of human adaptation to gradual changes in average temperature. While focusing on small changes in average temperatures, they ignore the important health impacts of extreme weather events such as heat waves, droughts, floods, and hurricanes. They extrapolate this pattern far beyond the level that is apparently supported by their principal sources, and introduce an arbitrary assumption that may bias the result toward finding benefits from warming.

Suggested Citation

  • Ackerman, Frank & Stanton, Elizabeth A., 2006. "Can Climate Change Save Lives? A comment on “Economy-wide estimates of the implications of climate change: Human health"," Working Papers 37240, Tufts University, Global Development and Environment Institute.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:tugdwp:37240
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.37240
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    File URL: https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/37240/files/06-05ClimateHealth.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Frank Ackerman, "undated". "The Unbearable Lightness of Regulatory Costs," GDAE Working Papers 06-02, GDAE, Tufts University.
    2. Frank Ackerman & Timothy A. Wise & Kevin P. Gallagher & Luke Ney & Regina Flores, "undated". "Free Trade, Corn, and the Environment: Environmental Impacts of US – Mexico Corn Trade Under NAFTA," GDAE Working Papers 03-06, GDAE, Tufts University.
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    7. Frank Ackerman & Ian J. Finlayson, 2006. "The economics of inaction on climate change: a sensitivity analysis," Climate Policy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 6(5), pages 509-526, September.
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    18. David Dapice, "undated". "Current Economic Conditions in Myanmar and Options for Sustainable Growth," GDAE Working Papers 03-04, GDAE, Tufts University.
    19. Dapice, David, 2003. "Current Economic Conditions in Myanmar and Options for Sustainable Growth," Working Papers 15582, Tufts University, Global Development and Environment Institute.
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    Cited by:

    1. Margherita Grasso & Matteo Manera & Aline Chiabai & Anil Markandya, 2012. "The Health Effects of Climate Change: A Survey of Recent Quantitative Research," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 9(5), pages 1-25, April.

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