Notice
Francesco Scarazzato
PhD Student, Vienna University of Economics and Business
Causal effects of adverse temperature shocks on schooling outcomes in India
Abstract: Do extreme weather events adversely affect the educational outcomes of kids in India? To address this question, we link records from primary school exams with information on local weather conditions, with a special focus on extreme heat. Preliminary results show that a constant increase in temperature by merely 0.5°C means a drop in the number of students passing the exam by 2% and a drop in the number of highest grades of almost 15%, hinting towards a sizable potential loss in human capital. The effect on the probability of passing the exam is increasingly negative for higher temperature brackets, and the effect is largest for days with a maximum temperature above 40°C. Furthermore, we show evidence that vegetation in the proximity of schools has a strong mitigating effect. These findings suggest that increasing vegetation in the vicinity of schools may foster adaptation to expected long-term changes in climate.