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Rural Households in a Changing Climate

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  • Baez, Javier E.

    (World Bank)

  • Kronick, Dorothy

    (World Bank)

  • Mason, Andrew D.

    (World Bank)

Abstract

This paper argues that climate change poses two distinct, if related, sets of challenges for poor rural households: challenges related to the increasing frequency and severity of weather shocks and challenges related to long-term shifts in temperature, rainfall patterns, water availability, and other environmental factors. Within this framework, we examine evidence from existing empirical literature to compose an initial picture of household-level strategies for adapting to climate change in rural settings. We find that although households possess numerous strategies for managing climate shocks and shifts, their adaptive capacity is insufficient for the task of maintaining – let alone improving – household welfare. We describe the role of public policy in fortifying the ability of rural households to adapt to a changing climate.

Suggested Citation

  • Baez, Javier E. & Kronick, Dorothy & Mason, Andrew D., 2012. "Rural Households in a Changing Climate," IZA Discussion Papers 6872, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp6872
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    Cited by:

    1. Menéndez, Marta & Gignoux, Jérémie, 2014. "Short and long run effects of earthquakes on farm businesses in Indonesia," 2014 International Congress, August 26-29, 2014, Ljubljana, Slovenia 182721, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    2. Asian Development Bank Institute, 2017. "Asian Development Outlook 2016 Update: Meeting the Low-Carbon Growth Challenge," Working Papers id:11747, eSocialSciences.
    3. Juan Armando Torres Munguía & Inmaculada Martínez-Zarzoso, 2021. "Examining gender inequalities in factors associated with income poverty in Mexican rural households," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(11), pages 1-25, November.
    4. Chengzheng Li & Zheng Pan, 2021. "How do extremely high temperatures affect labor market performance? Evidence from rural China," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 61(4), pages 2265-2291, October.
    5. Aftab, Ashar & Ahmed, Ajaz & Scarpa, Riccardo, 2021. "Farm households' perception of weather change and flood adaptations in northern Pakistan," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 182(C).
    6. Salvucci, Vincenzo & Santos, Ricardo, 2020. "Vulnerability to Natural Shocks: Assessing the Short-Term Impact on Consumption and Poverty of the 2015 Flood in Mozambique," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    7. repec:dau:papers:123456789/14371 is not listed on IDEAS
    8. Eva O. Arceo-Gómez & Danae Hernández-Cortés & Alejandro López-Feldman, 2020. "Droughts and rural households’ wellbeing: evidence from Mexico," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 162(3), pages 1197-1212, October.
    9. Delazeri, Linda Márcia Mendes & Cunha, Dênis Antônio da & Couto-Santos, Fabiana Rita, 2018. "Climate change and urbanization: evidence from the Semi-Arid region of Brazil," Revista Brasileira de Estudos Regionais e Urbanos, Associação Brasileira de Estudos Regionais e Urbanos (ABER), vol. 12(2), pages 129-154.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    risk-coping mechanisms; adaptation; rural households; climate change; long-term effects;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q12 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Micro Analysis of Farm Firms, Farm Households, and Farm Input Markets
    • Q54 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Climate; Natural Disasters and their Management; Global Warming
    • O13 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Agriculture; Natural Resources; Environment; Other Primary Products

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