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Awareness as an Adaptation Strategy for Reducing Mortality from Heat Waves: Evidence from a Disaster Risk Management Program in India

Author

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  • Stephen C. Smith

    (Department of Economics/Institute for International Economic Policy, George Washington University)

  • Saudamini Das

    (Department of Economics, Swami Shradhanand College, University of Delhi)

Abstract

Heat waves, defined as an interval of abnormally hot and humid weather, have been a prominent killer in recent years. With heat waves worsening with climate change, adaptation is essential; one strategy has been to issue heat wave warnings and undertake awareness campaigns to bring about behavioral changes to reduce heat stroke. Since 2002, the Indian state of Odisha has been undertaking a grassroots awareness campaign on "dos and don'ts" during heat wave conditions through the Disaster Risk Management (DRM) program. Selection criteria for DRM districts were earthquake, flood, and cyclone incidence; but subsequently heat wave awareness also received intensive attention in these districts. We present quasi-experimental evidence on the impact of the program, taking DRM districts and periods as treatment units and the rest as controls, analyzing the impact on the death toll from heat stroke for the 1998 to 2010 period, using difference-in-difference (DID) regressions with a district level panel data set and a set of control variables. We find indications of program effectiveness with initial DID specifications, but results are not strongly robust. We then take into account a statewide heat wave advertising program, to which the poor have limited exposure but which may also provide spillover benefits, using a triple differencing approach; results suggest the heat wave awareness programs may have complementary impacts. We examine research strategies for much-needed improvement in the precision of impact evaluation results for innovative programs of this type.

Suggested Citation

  • Stephen C. Smith & Saudamini Das, 2012. "Awareness as an Adaptation Strategy for Reducing Mortality from Heat Waves: Evidence from a Disaster Risk Management Program in India," Working Papers 2012-6, The George Washington University, Institute for International Economic Policy.
    • Handle: RePEc:gwi:wpaper:2012-6
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    Cited by:

    1. Arun S. Malik & Stephen C. Smith, 2012. "Adaptation To Climate Change In Low-Income Countries: Lessons From Current Research And Needs From Future Research," Climate Change Economics (CCE), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 3(02), pages 1-22.
    2. François Cohen & Antoine Dechezlepretre, 2017. "Mortality inequality, temperature and public health provision: evidence from Mexico," GRI Working Papers 268, Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment.
    3. Alberto Posso & Stephen C. Smith & Lucia Ferrone & UNICEF Office of Research - Innocenti, 2019. "Do constraints on women worsen child deprivations? Framework, measurement, and evidence from India," Papers inwopa1045, Innocenti Working Papers.
    4. Johann Jacob & Pierre Valois & Maxime Tessier, 2021. "Using the Theory of Planned Behavior to Predict the Adoption of Heat and Flood Adaptation Behaviors by Municipal Authorities in the Province of Quebec, Canada," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-16, February.
    5. Chandra Bahinipati & Unmesh Patnaik, 2015. "The damages from climatic extremes in India: do disaster-specific and generic adaptation measures matter?," Environmental Economics and Policy Studies, Springer;Society for Environmental Economics and Policy Studies - SEEPS, vol. 17(1), pages 157-177, January.
    6. Das, Saudamini, 2016. "Television is More Effective in Bringing Behavioral Change: Evidence from Heat-Wave Awareness Campaign in India," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 107-121.
    7. Stephen Smith, 2016. "The Two Fragilities: Vulnerability to Conflict,Environmental Stress, and Their Interactions as Challenges to Ending Poverty," Working Papers 2016-1, The George Washington University, Institute for International Economic Policy.
    8. Jyotirekha Purohit & Himanshu Sekhar Rout, 2023. "Impact of climate change on human health concerning climate-induced natural disaster: evidence from an eastern Indian state," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 176(8), pages 1-22, August.
    9. Saudamini Das & Arup Mitra, 2021. "Does climate change perception make livelihood diversification more effective? Evidence from the consumption mobility study of rural households," IEG Working Papers 425, Institute of Economic Growth.
    10. repec:gwi:wpaper:2012-08 is not listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Adaptation to climate change; Awareness campaigns; Heat waves; Disaster Risk Management Program; India; Odisha; Difference-in-difference;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q54 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Climate; Natural Disasters and their Management; Global Warming
    • O13 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Agriculture; Natural Resources; Environment; Other Primary Products
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health

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