Climate change and the nonlinear impact of precipitation anomalies on income inequality.

ABSTRACT: Climate anomalies, such as floods and droughts, as well as gradual temperature changes have been shown to adversely affect economies and societies. Although studies find that climate change might increase global inequality by widening disparities across countries, its effects on within-country income distribution have been little investigated, as has the role of rainfall anomalies. Here, we show that extreme levels of precipitation exacerbate within-country income inequality. The strength and direction of the effect depends on the agricultural intensity of an economy. In high-agricultural-intensity countries, climate anomalies that negatively impact the agricultural sector lower incomes at the bottom end of the distribution and generate greater income inequality. Our results indicate that

SUBMITTER: Palagi E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9618053 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature