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Destructive Behavior, Judgment, and Economic Decision-Making Under Thermal Stress

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  • Almås, Ingvild
  • Auffhammer, Max
  • Bold, Tessa
  • Bolliger, Ian
  • Dembo, Aluma
  • Hsiang, Solomon
  • Kitamura, Shuhei
  • Miguel, Edward
  • Pickmans, Robert

Abstract

Accumulating evidence indicates that environmental temperature substantially affects economic outcomes and violence, but the reasons for this linkage are only partially understood. While factors external to human beings (such as agricultural production) are known to respond adversely to high temperatures, extreme temperatures could also directly influence the internal mental processes governing decision-making. We study this by systematically evaluating the effect of thermal stress on multiple dimensions of economic decision-making, judgment, and destructive behavior with 2,000 participants in Kenya and the US who were randomly assigned to different temperatures in a laboratory. We find that heat significantly affects individuals’ willingness to voluntarily destroy other participants’ assets, with pronounced increases among those experiencing heightened political conflict in Kenya. We find that other major dimensions of economic decision making are largely unaffected by temperature.
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Suggested Citation

  • Almås, Ingvild & Auffhammer, Max & Bold, Tessa & Bolliger, Ian & Dembo, Aluma & Hsiang, Solomon & Kitamura, Shuhei & Miguel, Edward & Pickmans, Robert, 2019. "Destructive Behavior, Judgment, and Economic Decision-Making Under Thermal Stress," Department of Economics, Working Paper Series qt2c9198nw, Department of Economics, Institute for Business and Economic Research, UC Berkeley.
  • Handle: RePEc:cdl:econwp:qt2c9198nw
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Garg, Teevrat & McCord, Gordon C. & Montfort, Aleister, 2020. "Can Social Protection Reduce Environmental Damages?," IZA Discussion Papers 13247, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Unfried, Kerstin & Kis-Katos, Krisztina & Poser, Tilman, 2022. "Water scarcity and social conflict," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 113(C).
    3. Heilmann, Kilian & Kahn, Matthew E. & Tang, Cheng Keat, 2021. "The urban crime and heat gradient in high and low poverty areas," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 197(C).
    4. Benedikt Janzen, 2022. "Temperature and Mental Health: Evidence from Helpline Calls," Papers 2207.04992, arXiv.org, revised Nov 2022.
    5. Linsenmeier, Manuel, 2021. "Temperature variability and long-run economic development," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 110499, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    6. 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).
    7. Lohmann, Paul M. & Gsottbauer, Elisabeth & You, Jing & Kontoleon, Andreas, 2023. "Air pollution and anti-social behaviour: Evidence from a randomised lab-in-the-field experiment," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 320(C).
    8. Sanjaya, Muhammad Ryan, 2023. "Antisocial behavior in experiments: What have we learned from the past two decades?," Research in Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(1), pages 104-115.
    9. Michelle Escobar Carias & David Johnston & Rachel Knott & Rohan Sweeney, 2021. "Heat and Economic Preferences," Papers 2110.05611, arXiv.org, revised Aug 2022.
    10. Krause, Jan S. & Brandt, Gerrit & Schmidt, Ulrich & Schunk, Daniel, 2023. "Don’t sweat it: Ambient temperature does not affect social behavior and perception," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • C91 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Laboratory, Individual Behavior
    • D74 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Conflict; Conflict Resolution; Alliances; Revolutions
    • O1 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development
    • Q50 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - General

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