Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/331729 
Year of Publication: 
2025
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 18165
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
This study demonstrates that heat disproportionately impairs human capital accumulation among low-performing students compared with their high-performing peers, using nationwide examination data from 22 million students in Japan. Given the strong correlation between academic performance and socioeconomic background, this suggests that heat exposure exacerbates pre-existing socioeconomic disparities among children. However, access to air conditioning in schools significantly mitigates these adverse effects across all achievement levels, with particularly pronounced benefits for lower-performing students. These findings suggest that public investment in school infrastructure can help reduce the unevenly distributed damage caused by heat to student learning, thereby promoting both efficiency and equity.
Subjects: 
heat
distributional impact
student achievement
adaptation
air conditioning
children
climate change
JEL: 
I21
I24
Q54
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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