Droughts and Deficits: Summary Evidence of the Global Impact on Economic Growth

This paper presents new estimates of the effects of dry episodes (rainfall shocks) and droughts on gross domestic product (GDP) per capita growth rates using state-of-the art empirical methods. Rainfall and water availability exhibit considerable spatial variability that is almost two times greater than that of temperature. Hence, the analysis needs to be conducted at a high degree of spatial disaggregation to capture the effects of rainfall variations on economic indicators of interest.

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