Intra-household risk perceptions and climate change adaptation in sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

We examine the effects of spouses’ climate risk perceptions (CRPs), defined by their beliefs about unfavourable climatic events and associated damages, on climate change adaptation (CCA) and the observed gender gap in adaptation. Our analysis uses the intra-household data collected by independent interviews with 1,274 female and male spouses in Kenya, Uganda and Senegal. By addressing the CRP endogeneity issue using the exogenous weather shocks during data collection months as instruments, we find that a higher CRP of both female and male spouses increases their probability of adopting CCA strategies. We also find that a higher CRP of female spouses reduces the adaptation gap by increasing their relative adoption of soil and water conservation practices. Our results highlight the importance of understanding gender-differentiated behavioural and economic factors to design effective climate policy interventions.