Publication
Nov 2010
We analyse the influence of climate on average life satisfaction in 87 countries using data from the World Values Survey. Climate is described in terms of ‘degree-months’ calculated using an optimally-selected base temperature of 65°F (18.3°C). Our results suggest that countries with climates characterised by a large number of degree-months enjoy significantly lower levels of life satisfaction. This finding is robust to a wide variety of model specifications. Using our results to analyse a particular climate change scenario associated with the IPCC A2 emissions scenario points to major losses for African countries, but modest gains for Northern Europe.
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English (PDF, 23 pages, 287 KB) |
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Author | David Maddison, Katrin Rehdanz |
Series | Kiel Institute Working Papers |
Issue | 1658 |
Publisher | Kiel Institute for the World Economy |
Copyright | © 2010 Kiel Institute for the World Economy |