IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ecolec/v240y2026ics0921800925003180.html

The influence of geomagnetic flux on global crop yields and income

Author

Listed:
  • Wigton-Jones, Evan

Abstract

Recent studies have shown that magnetic fields can influence plant growth and development. This research examines whether temporal variation in the intensity of the Earth’s geomagnetic field (GMF) affects the yields of food crops. To estimate this relationship I utilize data on the global yields of wheat, maize, rice, and soy at a 0.5 degree spatial resolution (approximately 55 km2), along with information on GMF intensity over the years 1985 to 2015. Results from a two-way fixed effects model suggest that a 1 mG increase in GMF strength is associated with a one percent increase in wheat and maize yields, a 1.8 percent increase in rice yields, and no significant effect on soy yields. To examine whether these effects impact economic outcomes, I obtain country-level measures of per capita income and value added in agriculture from 1960 to 2020. Two way fixed effects estimates show that a 1 mG increase in average country-level GMF strength is associated with a 0.5% increase in per capita value added in agriculture, and a 0.7% increase in per capita GDP. These results suggest that information on GMF intensity may serve as a useful addition to models of crop forecasting, and may help agronomists anticipate changes in agricultural income and food supplies.

Suggested Citation

  • Wigton-Jones, Evan, 2026. "The influence of geomagnetic flux on global crop yields and income," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 240(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:240:y:2026:i:c:s0921800925003180
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2025.108835
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921800925003180
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2025.108835?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
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Zhang, Peng & Zhang, Junjie & Chen, Minpeng, 2017. "Economic impacts of climate change on agriculture: The importance of additional climatic variables other than temperature and precipitation," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 8-31.
    2. Melissa Dell & Benjamin F. Jones & Benjamin A. Olken, 2012. "Temperature Shocks and Economic Growth: Evidence from the Last Half Century," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 4(3), pages 66-95, July.
    3. McArthur, John W. & McCord, Gordon C., 2017. "Fertilizing growth: Agricultural inputs and their effects in economic development," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 133-152.
    4. Colella, Fabrizio & Lalive, Rafael & Sakalli, Seyhun Orcan & Thoenig, Mathias, 2019. "Inference with Arbitrary Clustering," IZA Discussion Papers 12584, IZA Network @ LISER.
    5. Douglas Gollin & Casper Worm Hansen & Asger Mose Wingender, 2021. "Two Blades of Grass: The Impact of the Green Revolution," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 129(8), pages 2344-2384.
    6. Yinglei Zhang & Hangyu Dou & Liuyang yang & Yihan Zhang & Wei Sun & Yihao Ruan & Jiameng Guo & Yongchao Wang & Ruixin Shao & Qinghua Yang & Hao Wang, 2024. "Innovative approach to utilising magnetic fields to enhance wheat yield: evidence from field studies in China," Plant, Soil and Environment, Czech Academy of Agricultural Sciences, vol. 70(10), pages 656-672.
    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. Figari, Sebastián, 2025. "Climate change response: Input adjustment in agriculture," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 175(C).
    2. Pradesha, Angga & Pauw, Karl & Siddig, Khalid H. A. & Thurlow, James, 2024. "Reimagining Sustainable Intensification: A Novel Application of Modern Portfolio Theory in a General Equilibrium Framework," 2024 Annual Meeting, July 28-30, New Orleans, LA 343793, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    3. Yuan, Zhengrong & Ding, Hai & Yu, Qiuzuo, 2024. "High temperature, bargaining power and within-firm wage inequality: Evidence from China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 135(C).
    4. Chen, Zhenzhu & Li, Li & Tang, Yao, 2024. "Weather, credit, and economic fluctuations: Evidence from China," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 221(C), pages 406-422.
    5. Jagnani, Maulik & Barrett, Christopher B. & Liu, Yanyan & You, Liangzhi, "undated". "In the Weeds: Effects of Temperature on Agricultural Input Decisions in Moderate Climates," 2018 Annual Meeting, August 5-7, Washington, D.C. 274241, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    6. Jeffrey D. Michler & Dewan Abdullah Al Rafi & Jonathan Giezendanner & Anna Josephson & Valerien O. Pede & Elizabeth Tellman, 2024. "Impact Evaluations in Data Poor Settings: The Case of Stress-Tolerant Rice Varieties in Bangladesh," Papers 2409.02201, arXiv.org, revised Jul 2025.
    7. Wu, Zhiyang & Zhou, Tao & Zhang, Ning & Choi, Yongrok & Kong, Fanbin, 2023. "A hidden risk in climate change: The effect of daily rainfall shocks on industrial activities," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 161-180.
    8. Johannes Gallé & Anja Katzenberger, 2025. "Indian Agriculture Under Climate Change: The Competing Effect of Temperature and Rainfall Anomalies," Economics of Disasters and Climate Change, Springer, vol. 9(1), pages 53-105, March.
    9. Lyu, Zhuoyang & Yu, Li & Liu, Chen & Ma, Tiemeng, 2024. "When temperatures matter: Extreme heat and labor share," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).
    10. repec:ags:aaea22:343591 is not listed on IDEAS
    11. Daewoung Choi & Yong Kyu Gam & Hojong Shin, 2023. "Environmental reputation and bank liquidity: Evidence from climate transition," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(7-8), pages 1274-1304, July.
    12. Zhang, Peng & Deschenes, Olivier & Meng, Kyle & Zhang, Junjie, 2018. "Temperature effects on productivity and factor reallocation: Evidence from a half million chinese manufacturing plants," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 1-17.
    13. Jiang, Lei & Yang, Yue & Wu, Qingyang & Yang, Linshuang & Yang, Zaoli, 2024. "Hotter days, dirtier air: The impact of extreme heat on energy and pollution intensity in China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).
    14. Hua Liao & Chen Zhang & Paul J. Burke & Ru Li & Yi‐Ming Wei, 2023. "Extreme temperatures, mortality, and adaptation: Evidence from the county level in China," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(4), pages 953-969, April.
    15. Rodrigo Garcia‐Verdu & Alexis Meyer‐Cirkel & Akira Sasahara & Hans Weisfeld, 2022. "Importing inputs for climate change mitigation: The case of agricultural productivity," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(1), pages 34-56, February.
    16. Takeshima, Hiroyuki & Kishore, Avinash & Kumar, Anjani, 2024. "Climate shocks and fertilizer responses: Field-level evidence for rice production in Bangladesh," IAAE 2024 Conference, August 2-7, 2024, New Delhi, India 344280, International Association of Agricultural Economists (IAAE).
    17. Ouyang, Yanyan & Wang, Shengquan & Weng, Dabin & Zhang, Wenhao, 2024. "Temperature and domestic trade: City evidence from China," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 130-149.
    18. Huang, Kaixing & Zhao, Hong & Huang, Jikun & Wang, Jinxia & Findlay, Christopher, 2020. "The impact of climate change on the labor allocation: Empirical evidence from China," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    19. José-Luis Cruz & Esteban Rossi-Hansberg, 2024. "The Economic Geography of Global Warming," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 91(2), pages 899-939.
    20. Chen, Shuai & Gong, Binlei, 2021. "Response and adaptation of agriculture to climate change: Evidence from China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 148(C).
    21. Li, Chengzheng & Cong, Jiajia & Gu, Haiying & Zhang, Peng, 2021. "The non-linear effect of daily weather on economic performance: Evidence from China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    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:eee:ecolec:v:240:y:2026:i:c:s0921800925003180. 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/ecolecon .

    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.