Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/272029 
Year of Publication: 
2023
Series/Report no.: 
CESifo Working Paper No. 10385
Publisher: 
Center for Economic Studies and ifo Institute (CESifo), Munich
Abstract: 
How costly are droughts to individuals' nutrition in Africa? We measure severe droughts using a detailed satellite-based vegetation index observed bi-monthly for 0.08° grids between 1982 and 2015. Across 32 African countries, conditional on individual characteristics, timing relative to growing seasons, irrigation, climate, and country-year effects, we show that, unlike recurring droughts, a first-time exposure to a three-month severe drought reduces individuals' body mass index by 2.5%. Droughts are worse for underweight and uneducated individuals. The uneducated are more likely to become unemployed during first-time droughts, whereas both labor reallocation across occupations and migration mitigate the effect of recurring droughts.
Subjects: 
drought
nutrition
body-mass index
education
labor reallocation
JEL: 
Q54
I10
I24
O13
J60
Document Type: 
Working Paper
Appears in Collections:

Files in This Item:
File
Size





Items in EconStor are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.