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The impact of climate change on agricultural net revenue: a case study in the Fouta Djallon, West Africa

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 March 2014

Stephen A. Wood  and
Robert O. Mendelsohn
Stephen A. Wood
Affiliation:
Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology, Columbia University, New York 10027, NY; and Agriculture and Food Security Center, The Earth Institute, Columbia University, New York 10964, NY, USA. Tel: 781 771-3495. Fax: 212 854-8188. E-mail: saw2177@columbia.edu
Robert O. Mendelsohn
Affiliation:
School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Yale University, USA. E-mail: robert.mendelsohn@yale.edu
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Abstract

Continental-scale economic analysis suggests that changes in climate conditions are associated with lower agricultural net revenue in sub-Saharan Africa. Specific locations, however, may not reflect this overall trend due to variation in baseline climate, soils, and socioeconomic factors that are difficult to model at large scales. The economic effect of changes in climate conditions on agricultural revenue in particular places in sub-Saharan Africa remains largely unknown. To test this effect, we study an area of West Africa with high climate variation over a small geographic area. We find that higher temperatures and precipitation lower agricultural revenues in the more important rainy season but increase revenues in the less important cool, dry season.

Type
Research Article
Information
Environment and Development Economics , Volume 20 , Issue 1 , February 2015 , pp. 20 - 36
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

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