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Aridification, Agriculture, and Infant Health: Evidence from Soil Potential Evapotranspiration

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  • Jacopo Lunghi
  • Maurizio Malpede
  • Marco Percoco

Abstract

This study explores how aridity (proxied with a measure of soil potential evapotranspiration) impacts agricultural productivity and child wellbeing in Sub-Saharan Africa. Climate conditions, crop yield, and infant health measures are collected over approximately 4,000 grid cells of 0.5 x 0.5 in 34 countries. The results indicate that cells with higher soil aridity suffer from lower agricultural productivity, and infants born in arid areas are comparatively more likely to be underweight at birth and in the early years. Additionally, the aridity measure in this study captured a large share of the effect on crop yields and child health imputed to precipitations alone. The findings are applied to model projections of future climate conditions to emphasize the importance of accounting for aridity, alongside precipitations, when assessing the economic impact of climate.

Suggested Citation

  • Jacopo Lunghi & Maurizio Malpede & Marco Percoco, 2022. "Aridification, Agriculture, and Infant Health: Evidence from Soil Potential Evapotranspiration," GREEN Working Papers 21, GREEN, Centre for Research on Geography, Resources, Environment, Energy & Networks, Universita' Bocconi, Milano, Italy.
    • Handle: RePEc:bcu:greewp:greenwp21
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • J1 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • I15 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Economic Development
    • Q54 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Climate; Natural Disasters and their Management; Global Warming
    • Q56 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environment and Development; Environment and Trade; Sustainability; Environmental Accounts and Accounting; Environmental Equity; Population Growth
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration

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