IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/ejw/journl/v20y2023i2p234-253.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Temperature Shocks and Economic Growth: Comment on Dell, Jones, and Olken

Author

Listed:
  • David Barker

Abstract

Attempts to measure the effect of higher temperatures on economic growth began with work by Melissa Dell, Benjamin Jones, and Benjamin Olken published in the American Economic Review in 2009 and the American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics in 2012. There are problems with their research, however. Each of the following five statements is true as a single, standalone criticism or robustness check: (1) They use an untenable method of classifying countries by income; using more reasonable methods I find that their results disappear. (2) Their results are influenced by arbitrary methodological choices. (3) Their results are influenced by a small number of observations with unusual characteristics. (4) The inclusion of additional countries and more recent data weakens their results. (5) Alternative data does not support their hypothesis that high temperatures reduce economic growth. Their study is faulty and the results are not robust.

Suggested Citation

  • David Barker, 2023. "Temperature Shocks and Economic Growth: Comment on Dell, Jones, and Olken," Econ Journal Watch, Econ Journal Watch, vol. 20(2), pages 234–253-2, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:ejw:journl:v:20:y:2023:i:2:p:234-253
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://econjwatch.org/File+download/1287/BarkerSept2023.pdf?mimetype=pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://econjwatch.org/1334
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Tamura, Robert & Dwyer, Jerry & Devereux, John & Baier, Scott, 2019. "Economic growth in the long run," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 1-35.
    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. Georges Daw, 2022. "Determinants of Wealth Disparities in the EU: A Multi-scale Development Accounting Investigation," Comparative Economic Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Association for Comparative Economic Studies, vol. 64(2), pages 211-254, June.
    2. Jerzmanowski, Michal & Tamura, Robert, 2019. "Directed technological change & cross-country income differences: A quantitative analysis," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    3. Iryna Kalenyuk & Liudmyla Tsymbal, 2021. "Assessment of the intellectual component in economic development," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 126(6), pages 4793-4816, June.
    4. Saon Ray, 2014. "What Explains the Productivity Decline in Manufacturing in the Nineties in India?," Working Papers id:6280, eSocialSciences.
    5. Chad Turner & Robert Tamura & Sean Mulholland, 2013. "How important are human capital, physical capital and total factor productivity for determining state economic growth in the United States, 1840–2000?," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 18(4), pages 319-371, December.
    6. Max Gillman, 2019. "A Human Capital Theory of Structural Transformation," CERGE-EI Working Papers wp648, The Center for Economic Research and Graduate Education - Economics Institute, Prague.
    7. Muhammad Qahraman Kakar, 2021. "Ethnic Disparities, Women Education and Empowerment in South Asia," Erudite Ph.D Dissertations, Erudite, number ph21-01 edited by Manon Domingues Dos Santos, February.
    8. Pedro Mazeda Gil & Gustavo Iglésias, 2020. "Endogenous Growth and Real Effects of Monetary Policy: R&D and Physical Capital Complementarities," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 52(5), pages 1147-1197, August.
    9. Gillman, Max, 2021. "Steps in industrial development through human capital deepening," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    10. Roman Matousek & Nickolaos G. Tzeremes, 2021. "The asymmetric impact of human capital on economic growth," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 60(3), pages 1309-1334, March.
    11. Tamura, Robert & Simon, Curtis, 2017. "Secular Fertility Declines, Baby Booms, And Economic Growth: International Evidence," Macroeconomic Dynamics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 21(7), pages 1601-1672, October.
    12. Cragun, Randy & Tamura, Robert & Jerzmanowski, Michal, 2017. "Directed technical change: A macro perspective on life cycle earnings profiles," MPRA Paper 81830, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. Robert TAMURA & David CUBERES, 2020. "Equilibrium and A-efficient Fertility with Increasing Returns to Population and Endogenous Mortality," JODE - Journal of Demographic Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 86(2), pages 157-182, June.
    14. Campbell, Susanna G. & Üngör, Murat, 2020. "Revisiting human capital and aggregate income differences," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 43-64.
    15. Fumitaka Furuoka & Kiew Ling Pui & Chinyere Ezeoke & Ray I. Jacob & Olaoluwa S. Yaya, 2024. "Growth Slowdowns And Middle-Income Trap: Evidence From New Unit Root Framework," The Singapore Economic Review (SER), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 69(01), pages 461-477, March.
    16. Chuku Chuku & Victor Ajayi, 2022. "Working Paper 363 - Growing Green: Enablers and Barriers for Africa," Working Paper Series 2489, African Development Bank.
    17. Mandal, Abir & Regmi, Narendra & Tamura, Robert, 2021. "Education, Fertility and Incomes in the States of India: Demographic Transition," MPRA Paper 110378, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    18. Errol, Zeresh & Madsen, Jakob B. & Moslehi, Solmaz, 2021. "Social disorganization theory and crime in the advanced countries: Two centuries of evidence," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 191(C), pages 519-537.
    19. Batara Surya & Haeruddin Saleh & Hamsina Hamsina & Muhammad Idris & Despry Nur Annisa Ahmad, 2021. "Rural Agribusiness-Based Agropolitan Area Development and Environmental Management Sustainability: Regional Economic Growth Perspectives," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 11(1), pages 142-157.
    20. Lehmann-Hasemeyer, Sibylle & Prettner, Klaus & Tscheuschner, Paul, 2023. "The scientific revolution and its implications for long-run economic development," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Climate change; global warming; economic growth;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O44 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Environment and Growth
    • Q51 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Valuation of Environmental Effects
    • Q59 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Other
    • R11 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Regional Economic Activity: Growth, Development, Environmental Issues, and Changes

    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:ejw:journl:v:20:y:2023:i:2:p:234-253. 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: Jason Briggeman (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/edgmuus.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.