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Temperature, Worker Productivity, and Adaptation: Evidence from Survey Data Production

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  • Melissa LoPalo

Abstract

This paper estimates the impact of daily weather on worker productivity by using household survey data to study interviewers. Using data from over 9,000 Demographic and Health Surveys interviewers in 46 countries, I find that interviewers complete 13.6 percent fewer interviews per hour on the hottest and most humid days. Workers maintain the same total output by starting earlier in the day and spending more time on each interview at the expense of spending more hours in the field with the same total pay. In addition, interviewers become differentially less productive on tasks that are less easily monitored.

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  • Melissa LoPalo, 2023. "Temperature, Worker Productivity, and Adaptation: Evidence from Survey Data Production," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 15(1), pages 192-229, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:aejapp:v:15:y:2023:i:1:p:192-229
    DOI: 10.1257/app.20200547
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    1. Amitabh Chandra & Amy Finkelstein & Adam Sacarny & Chad Syverson, 2016. "Health Care Exceptionalism? Performance and Allocation in the US Health Care Sector," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 106(8), pages 2110-2144, August.
    2. Joshua Graff Zivin & Matthew Neidell, 2012. "The Impact of Pollution on Worker Productivity," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 102(7), pages 3652-3673, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. Hai‐Anh H. Dang & Stephane Hallegatte & Trong‐Anh Trinh, 2024. "Does global warming worsen poverty and inequality? An updated review," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(5), pages 1873-1905, December.
    2. Bressler, R. Daniel & Papp, Anna & Sarmiento, Luis & Shrader, Jeffrey G. & Wilson, Andrew J., 2025. "Working Under the Sun: The Role of Occupation in Temperature-Related Mortality in Mexico," IZA Discussion Papers 17759, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Sam Cosaert & Adrián Nieto & Konstantinos Tatsiramos, 2023. "Temperature and the Timing of Work," CESifo Working Paper Series 10681, CESifo.
    4. Barbara Biasi & Julien M. Lafortune & David Schönholzer, 2024. "What Works and For Whom? Effectiveness and Efficiency of School Capital Investments Across The U.S," NBER Working Papers 32040, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Giulia Valenti & Francesco Vona, 2024. "Hot Wages: How Do Heat Waves Change the Earnings Distribution?," Working Papers 2024.31, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei.
    6. Picchio, Matteo & van Ours, Jan C., 2024. "The impact of high temperatures on performance in work-related activities," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    7. Drescher, Katharina & Janzen, Benedikt, 2025. "When weather wounds workers: The impact of temperature on workplace accidents," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 241(C).
    8. Kahori Ishibashi & Ryo Takahashi, 2024. "Too“hot”to recognize her rights: The impact of climate change on attitude toward gender equality," Working Papers 2310, Waseda University, Faculty of Political Science and Economics.
    9. Garg, Teevrat & Jagnani, Maulik & Lyons, Liz, 2025. "Heat and Team Production: Experimental Evidence from Bangladesh," IZA Discussion Papers 17870, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    10. Sam Cosaert & Adrián Nieto & Konstantinos Tatsiramos, 2023. "Temperature and Joint Time Use," CESifo Working Paper Series 10464, CESifo.
    11. Kassa,Woubet & Woldemichael,Andinet, 2024. "Hotter Planet, Hotter Factories : Uneven Impacts of Climate Change on Productivity," Policy Research Working Paper Series 10762, The World Bank.
    12. Teevrat Garg & Maulik Jagnani & Elizabeth Lyons, 2024. "Heat and Team Production: Experimental Evidence from Bangladesh," CESifo Working Paper Series 11219, CESifo.
    13. Manuela Fritz, 2025. "Beyond the heat: The mental health toll of temperature and humidity in India," Papers 2503.08761, arXiv.org.
    14. Nikolai Cook, Taylor Wright, 2024. "Don’t Lose Your Cool: Temperature and Gun-Violence in North America," LCERPA Working Papers jc0146, Laurier Centre for Economic Research and Policy Analysis, revised 2024.
    15. Hong, Yumin, 2025. "Heat and humidity on early-life outcomes: Evidence from Mexico," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).
    16. Bui, Thanh-Huong & Bui, Ha-Phuong & Pham, Thi Mai-Anh, 2024. "Effects of temperature on job insecurity: Evidence from Australia," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 264-276.
    17. Katharina Drescher & Benedikt Janzen, 2023. "When Weather Wounds Workers: The Impact of Temperature on Workplace Accidents," Working Papers 226, Bavarian Graduate Program in Economics (BGPE).
    18. Yu, Le & Chen, Yuan & Zhang, Siqi, 2025. "Climate change and staple grain acreage: Regional adaptation in China's agricultural cluster," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    19. Goicoechea,Ana & Lang,Megan Elizabeth, 2023. "Firms and Climate Change in Low- and Middle-Income Countries," Policy Research Working Paper Series 10644, The World Bank.
    20. Aparajita Dasgupta & Devvrat Raghav, 2024. "Rural Roads, Climate Change, and the Dynamics of Structural Transformation: Evidence from India," Working Papers 122, Ashoka University, Department of Economics.
    21. Chunhua Wang, 2025. "The Distributional Effects of Temperature Changes: Evidence from China’s Cement Industry," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 88(1), pages 163-184, January.
    22. Guimbeau, Amanda & Ji, Xinde James & Menon, Nidhiya, 2024. "Climate Shocks, Intimate Partner Violence, and the Protective Role of Climate-Resilience Projects," IZA Discussion Papers 17529, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    23. Cui, Xiaomeng & Gafarov, Bulat & Ghanem, Dalia & Kuffner, Todd, 2024. "On model selection criteria for climate change impact studies," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 239(1).
    24. Mario Lackner & Hendrik Sonnabend, 2024. "When performance melts away: Heat causes mental errors in high-stakes competitions," Economics working papers 2024-11, Department of Economics, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • C83 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Data Collection and Data Estimation Methodology; Computer Programs - - - Survey Methods; Sampling Methods
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J81 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Standards - - - Working Conditions
    • O12 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • Q54 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Climate; Natural Disasters and their Management; Global Warming

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