IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/ajarec/v67y2023i4p501-523.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The economics of drought: A review of impacts and costs

Author

Listed:
  • David A. Fleming‐Muñoz
  • Stuart Whitten
  • Graham D. Bonnett

Abstract

Although a growing body of literature studies drought impacts, papers providing a comprehensive review of drought's social and economic impacts are scarce. This paper fills this gap by exploring the consequences of drought on societies based on research findings in Australia—a large country used to experiencing severe droughts. To do this, we propose a framework to categorise drought impacts in three dimensions: individuals/households (including health), productive sectors and system (including economic and ecosystem) impacts. The framework then guides a systematic literature review and discussion of studies looking at diverse drought impacts and their related costs. By analysing and discussing the findings from this literature, we emphasise different policy considerations, empirical challenges and research needs to support robust analysis and estimates of the true cost of droughts. We conclude by proposing an expanded framework to identify drought impacts and a discussion of the implications of the review for policy development.

Suggested Citation

  • David A. Fleming‐Muñoz & Stuart Whitten & Graham D. Bonnett, 2023. "The economics of drought: A review of impacts and costs," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 67(4), pages 501-523, October.
  • Handle: RePEc:bla:ajarec:v:67:y:2023:i:4:p:501-523
    DOI: 10.1111/1467-8489.12527
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8489.12527
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/1467-8489.12527?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Commission, Productivity, 2011. "Australian’s Urban Water Sector," Inquiry Reports, Productivity Commission, Government of Australia, volume 2, number 55.
    2. Bennett, Jeffrey W. & van Bueren, Martin & Whitten, Stuart M., 2004. "Estimating society's willingness to pay to maintain viable rural communities," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 48(3), pages 1-26.
    3. David A. Fleming & Alberto Chong & Hern�n D. Bejarano, 2014. "Trust and Reciprocity in the Aftermath of Natural Disasters," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(11), pages 1482-1493, November.
    4. Ross S. Kingwell & Vilaphonh Xayavong, 2017. "How drought affects the financial characteristics of Australian farm businesses," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 61(3), pages 344-366, July.
    5. Productivity Commission, 2009. "Government Drought Support," Inquiry Reports, Productivity Commission, Government of Australia, number 46.
    6. Wittwer, Glyn & Griffith, Marnie, 2011. "Modelling drought and recovery in the southern Murray-Darling basin," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 55(3), pages 1-18, September.
    7. Sheng, Yu & Xu, Xinpeng, 2019. "The productivity impact of climate change: Evidence from Australia's Millennium drought," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 182-191.
    8. Kingwell, Ross S. & Xayavong, Vilaphonh, 2017. "How drought affects the financial characteristics of Australian farm businesses," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 61(3), July.
    9. Brennan, Donna C. & Tapsuwan, Sorada & Ingram, Gordon, 2007. "The welfare costs of urban outdoor water restrictions," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 51(3), pages 1-19.
    10. Bethany Cooper & Michael Burton & Lin Crase, 2019. "Willingness to Pay to Avoid Water Restrictions in Australia Under a Changing Climate," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 72(3), pages 823-847, March.
    11. Sarah Ann Wheeler & Alec Zuo, 2017. "The impact of drought and water scarcity on irrigator farm exit intentions in the Murray–Darling Basin," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 61(3), pages 404-421, July.
    12. Donna Brennan & Sorada Tapsuwan & Gordon Ingram, 2007. "The welfare costs of urban outdoor water restrictions," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 51(3), pages 243-261, September.
    13. Robert G. Chambers & Simone Pieralli & Yu Sheng, 2020. "The Millennium Droughts and Australian Agricultural Productivity Performance: A Nonparametric Analysis," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 102(5), pages 1383-1403, October.
    14. John Rolfe & Brenda Dyack, 2011. "Valuing Recreation in the Coorong, Australia, with Travel Cost and Contingent Behaviour Models," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 87(277), pages 282-293, June.
    15. Ben Edwards & Matthew Gray & Boyd Hunter, 2009. "A Sunburnt Country: The Economic and Financial Impact of Drought on Rural and Regional Families in Australia in an Era of Climate Change," Australian Journal of Labour Economics (AJLE), Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre (BCEC), Curtin Business School, vol. 12(1), pages 108-131.
    16. Stain, Helen J. & Kelly, Brian & Carr, Vaughan J. & Lewin, Terry J. & Fitzgerald, Michael & Fragar, Lyn, 2011. "The psychological impact of chronic environmental adversity: Responding to prolonged drought," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 73(11), pages 1593-1599.
    17. Holly Vins & Jesse Bell & Shubhayu Saha & Jeremy J. Hess, 2015. "The Mental Health Outcomes of Drought: A Systematic Review and Causal Process Diagram," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-25, October.
    18. Vivek Kumar Singh & Prashasti Singh & Mousumi Karmakar & Jacqueline Leta & Philipp Mayr, 2021. "The journal coverage of Web of Science, Scopus and Dimensions: A comparative analysis," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 126(6), pages 5113-5142, June.
    19. David Adamson & Adam Loch & Kurt Schwabe, 2017. "Adaptation responses to increasing drought frequency," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 61(3), pages 385-403, July.
    20. David Hensher & Nina Shore & Kenneth Train, 2006. "Water Supply Security and Willingness to Pay to Avoid Drought Restrictions," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 82(256), pages 56-66, March.
    21. Banerjee, Onil & Bark, Rosalind & Connor, Jeff & Crossman, Neville D., 2013. "An ecosystem services approach to estimating economic losses associated with drought," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 19-27.
    22. Michael Plumb & Kathryn Davis, 2010. "Developments in Utilities Prices," RBA Bulletin (Print copy discontinued), Reserve Bank of Australia, pages 9-18, December.
    23. Krassi Rumchev & Suzanne Gilbey & Ryan Mead-Hunter & Linda Selvey & Kevin Netto & Ben Mullins, 2019. "Agricultural Dust Exposures and Health and Safety Practices among Western Australian Wheatbelt Farmers during Harvest," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(24), pages 1-13, December.
    24. Nick Carroll & Paul Frijters & Michael Shields, 2009. "Quantifying the costs of drought: new evidence from life satisfaction data," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 22(2), pages 445-461, April.
    25. Kirby, Mac & Bark, Rosalind & Connor, Jeff & Qureshi, M. Ejaz & Keyworth, Scott, 2014. "Sustainable irrigation: How did irrigated agriculture in Australia's Murray–Darling Basin adapt in the Millennium Drought?," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 154-162.
    26. Boyd Hunter & Ben Edwards, 2011. "The impact of drought on carers," Australian Journal of Labour Economics (AJLE), Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre (BCEC), Curtin Business School, vol. 14(2), pages 199-214.
    27. Freire-González, Jaume & Decker, Christopher & Hall, Jim W., 2017. "The Economic Impacts of Droughts: A Framework for Analysis," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 196-204.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Daghagh Yazd, Sahar & Wheeler, Sarah Ann & Zuo, Alec, 2020. "Understanding the impacts of water scarcity and socio-economic demographics on farmer mental health in the Murray-Darling Basin," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    2. Freire-González, Jaume & Decker, Christopher & Hall, Jim W., 2017. "The Economic Impacts of Droughts: A Framework for Analysis," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 196-204.
    3. Bethany Cooper & Michael Burton & Lin Crase, 2019. "Willingness to Pay to Avoid Water Restrictions in Australia Under a Changing Climate," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 72(3), pages 823-847, March.
    4. Cooper, Bethany & Crase, Lin & Burton, Michael P., 2010. "Urban Water Restrictions: Attitudes and Avoidance," 2010 Conference (54th), February 10-12, 2010, Adelaide, Australia 58892, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society.
    5. Bethany Cooper, 2017. "What drives compliance? An application of the theory of planned behaviour to urban water restrictions using structural equation modelling," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 49(14), pages 1426-1439, March.
    6. Clevo Wilson & Wasantha Athukorala & Benno Torgler & Robert Gifford & Maria A. Garcia-Valiñas & Shunsuke Managi, 2021. "Willingness to pay to ensure a continuous water supply with minimum restrictions," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 61(3), pages 1519-1537, September.
    7. Atifa Asghari & Yuriy Kuleshov & Andrew B. Watkins & Jessica Bhardwaj & Isabella Aitkenhead, 2021. "Improving drought resilience in Northern Murray-Darling Basin farming communities: Is forecast-based financing suitable?," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 109(1), pages 1221-1245, October.
    8. John Freebairn, 2013. "Imperfect Knowledge and Urban Water Decisions," Economic Papers, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 32(1), pages 32-40, March.
    9. repec:bla:ausecr:v:41:y:2008:i:4:p:401-412 is not listed on IDEAS
    10. Sarah Ann Wheeler, 2022. "Debunking Murray‐Darling Basin water trade myths," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 66(4), pages 797-821, October.
    11. Wheeler, Sarah Ann & Zuo, Alec & Bjornlund, Henning, 2014. "Investigating the delayed on-farm consequences of selling water entitlements in the Murray-Darling Basin," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 72-82.
    12. Robert G. Chambers & Simone Pieralli & Yu Sheng, 2020. "The Millennium Droughts and Australian Agricultural Productivity Performance: A Nonparametric Analysis," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 102(5), pages 1383-1403, October.
    13. Olmstead, Sheila M. & Stavins, Robert N., 2008. "Comparing Price and Non-price Approaches to Urban Water Conservation," RFF Working Paper Series dp-08-22, Resources for the Future.
    14. Lin Crase & Suzanne O’Keefe & Brian Dollery, 2008. "Can Urban Water Markets Work? Some Concerns," Agenda - A Journal of Policy Analysis and Reform, Australian National University, College of Business and Economics, School of Economics, vol. 15(3), pages 73-82.
    15. Castledine, A. & Moeltner, K. & Price, M.K. & Stoddard, S., 2014. "Free to choose: Promoting conservation by relaxing outdoor watering restrictions," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 107(PA), pages 324-343.
    16. Jaume Freire-González & Christopher A. Decker & Jim W. Hall, 2017. "A Scenario-Based Framework for Assessing the Economic Impacts of Potential Droughts," Water Economics and Policy (WEP), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 3(04), pages 1-27, October.
    17. Yogi Vidyattama & Leonie J. Pearson & Robert Tanton & Itismita Mohanty, 2017. "Assessing adaptive capacity during the drought period in the Murray–Darling Basin," Asia-Pacific Journal of Regional Science, Springer, vol. 1(1), pages 155-170, April.
    18. Hughes, Neal & Hafi, Ahmed & Goesch, Tim & Brownlowe, Nathan, 2008. "Urban water management: optimal price and investment policy under uncertainty," 2008 Conference (52nd), February 5-8, 2008, Canberra, Australia 6005, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society.
    19. Janine Stone & Christopher Goemans & Marco Costanigro, 2019. "Variation in Water Demand Responsiveness to Utility Policies and Weather: A Latent-Class Model," Water Economics and Policy (WEP), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 6(01), pages 1-33, September.
    20. Richard Freund, 2023. "From drought to distress: unpacking the mental health effects of water scarcity," CSAE Working Paper Series 2023-07, Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford.
    21. Sahar Daghagh Yazd & Sarah Ann Wheeler & Alec Zuo, 2019. "Exploring the Drivers of Irrigator Mental Health in the Murray–Darling Basin, Australia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(21), pages 1-15, November.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:ajarec:v:67:y:2023:i:4:p:501-523. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/aaresea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.