Extreme Weather Shocks and Firms in the Middle East and North Africa

The Middle East and North Africa is the most water scarce region in the world. Although studies have explored the effect of extreme weather events on agriculture, much less is known about the effect on businesses. Using geocoded firm-level data from the World Bank’s Enterprise Surveys across the Middle East and North Africa region, this study analyzes the effects of precipitation shocks on firm performance. The findings show that firms in areas that experience negative precipitation shocks have lower sales, labor productivity, and investment. The study tests a number of channels identified in the literature. Poor infrastructure, such as water and electricity outages, and lower access to finance that occur as a result of negative precipitation shocks are found to be key channels. Negative precipitation increases the share of temporary workers, possibly explaining the drop in labor productivity. A new channel of governance is also uncovered—negative precipitation shocks increase the time spent by senior management in dealing with regulations and expectations of solicitations of bribes. The results also show that firms respond to precipitation shocks by adopting greener practices, suggesting scope for adaptation in the region.