Pub Date : 2026-02-01Epub Date: 2025-10-11DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2025.103670
Dapeng Chen , Shin-Yi Chou , Bingjin Xue
We exploit China's universal two-child policy and variations in adult children's birth cohort to examine the causal impact of the family-planning policy on grandparenting and elderly mental well-being. Using a difference-in-differences design, we find that the policy significantly increased the number of grandchildren and intensified grandparental involvement—raising informal caregiving, weekly hours spent, co-residence, and contact with adult children. These changes were accompanied by a 6.8 % increase in CESD-10 depression scores and 8.9 %–14.3 % increase in underlying symptoms such as restless sleep, irritability, difficulty concentrating, and hopelessness. We find no significant changes in income, consumption, or healthcare use, suggesting that the mental health effects are most plausibly driven by increased caregiving demands. The impacts are most pronounced among urban and paternal grandparents, especially paternal grandmothers. Despite these declines, we find no evidence of elevated risk of severe clinical depression.
{"title":"Bittersweet: Grandparenting and elderly mental health in the two-child policy era","authors":"Dapeng Chen , Shin-Yi Chou , Bingjin Xue","doi":"10.1016/j.jdeveco.2025.103670","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jdeveco.2025.103670","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We exploit China's universal two-child policy and variations in adult children's birth cohort to examine the causal impact of the family-planning policy on grandparenting and elderly mental well-being. Using a difference-in-differences design, we find that the policy significantly increased the number of grandchildren and intensified grandparental involvement—raising informal caregiving, weekly hours spent, co-residence, and contact with adult children. These changes were accompanied by a 6.8 % increase in CESD-10 depression scores and 8.9 %–14.3 % increase in underlying symptoms such as restless sleep, irritability, difficulty concentrating, and hopelessness. We find no significant changes in income, consumption, or healthcare use, suggesting that the mental health effects are most plausibly driven by increased caregiving demands. The impacts are most pronounced among urban and paternal grandparents, especially paternal grandmothers. Despite these declines, we find no evidence of elevated risk of severe clinical depression.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48418,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Development Economics","volume":"179 ","pages":"Article 103670"},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145333324","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-02-01Epub Date: 2025-09-18DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2025.103630
Liyang Wan , Qian Wan , Zichao Yang , Ying Zhao
This paper examines the impact of intellectual property judicial institutions on innovation, focusing on the intellectual property courts (IPCs) reform in China. We find that IPCs reform leads to a significant 22.6 % increase in the number of invention patents at the city level, equating to an average rise of 215 annually. Notably, we rule out the possibility of inter-region and intra-conglomerate transfer of patents, indicating that the effect of the IPCs reform on innovation is not a zero-sum game among regions. Furthermore, we find that the IPCs reform alters the patent structure by shifting the focus from utility and design patents to invention patents; however, it does not appear to significantly improve invention patent quality. Mechanism analyses suggest that the IPCs reform increases social satisfaction with judicial protection of intellectual property, shorter case duration and higher plaintiff winning rates in intellectual property cases.
{"title":"Judicial institution and innovation: Evidence from China's intellectual property courts reform","authors":"Liyang Wan , Qian Wan , Zichao Yang , Ying Zhao","doi":"10.1016/j.jdeveco.2025.103630","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jdeveco.2025.103630","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper examines the impact of intellectual property judicial institutions on innovation, focusing on the intellectual property courts (IPCs) reform in China. We find that IPCs reform leads to a significant 22.6 % increase in the number of invention patents at the city level, equating to an average rise of 215 annually. Notably, we rule out the possibility of inter-region and intra-conglomerate transfer of patents, indicating that the effect of the IPCs reform on innovation is not a zero-sum game among regions. Furthermore, we find that the IPCs reform alters the patent structure by shifting the focus from utility and design patents to invention patents; however, it does not appear to significantly improve invention patent quality. Mechanism analyses suggest that the IPCs reform increases social satisfaction with judicial protection of intellectual property, shorter case duration and higher plaintiff winning rates in intellectual property cases.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48418,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Development Economics","volume":"179 ","pages":"Article 103630"},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145119157","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-02-01Epub Date: 2025-09-01DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2025.103606
Zhenyu Shen , Ruichao Si , Gang Xu
This study examines the impact of anti-corruption campaigns on regional economic development in a developmental state with weak market-supporting institutions. By leveraging staggered investigations of city leaders’ political patrons amid the recent corruption crackdown in China, we find that cities led by officials connected to investigated high-ranking officials experience a notable decline in economic performance. This decline is most plausibly attributed to diminished corruption-induced efforts by local officials in various government-led economic activities, including land sales, government procurement, and public infrastructure investment. However, we find that local governments place greater emphasis on environmental protection, and several welfare indicators, including air quality, improve significantly following the shock. We rule out alternative explanations such as unfavorable market responses or decreased support from higher-level governments. Further analysis reveals that local leaders achieving superior economic performance after their patrons’ downfall would face worse career prospects. Our findings highlight that China’s anti-corruption campaign has helped transform the development model of local governments from a corruption-driven, growth-oriented one to one centered on high-quality development with a stronger focus on welfare.
{"title":"Anti-corruption shocks, political incentives, and regional economic development in a developmental state","authors":"Zhenyu Shen , Ruichao Si , Gang Xu","doi":"10.1016/j.jdeveco.2025.103606","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jdeveco.2025.103606","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study examines the impact of anti-corruption campaigns on regional economic development in a developmental state with weak market-supporting institutions. By leveraging staggered investigations of city leaders’ political patrons amid the recent corruption crackdown in China, we find that cities led by officials connected to investigated high-ranking officials experience a notable decline in economic performance. This decline is most plausibly attributed to diminished corruption-induced efforts by local officials in various government-led economic activities, including land sales, government procurement, and public infrastructure investment. However, we find that local governments place greater emphasis on environmental protection, and several welfare indicators, including air quality, improve significantly following the shock. We rule out alternative explanations such as unfavorable market responses or decreased support from higher-level governments. Further analysis reveals that local leaders achieving superior economic performance after their patrons’ downfall would face worse career prospects. Our findings highlight that China’s anti-corruption campaign has helped transform the development model of local governments from a corruption-driven, growth-oriented one to one centered on high-quality development with a stronger focus on welfare.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48418,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Development Economics","volume":"179 ","pages":"Article 103606"},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145107217","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-02-01Epub Date: 2025-11-06DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2025.103675
Ioana Botea , Markus Goldstein , Kenneth Houngbedji , Florence Kondylis , Michael O’Sullivan , Harris Selod
In many parts of the world, women’s land rights remain informal, leaving widows – especially those without a male heir – at high risk of losing access to their land and homes when their husbands die. We study whether large-scale land formalization programs can improve widows’ tenure security, using data from a randomized controlled trial in rural Benin. Four years after the intervention, widows in villages with land formalization were significantly more likely to remain in their homes, with the strongest effects among those without a male heir. We identify two key mechanisms: increased community recognition of women’s land rights and greater decision-making power over land resources. These findings highlight the potential of land formalization to strengthen women’s tenure security and promote their long-term economic stability in similar settings.
{"title":"Right to stay? Long-run experimental evidence on land formalization and widows’ tenure security in Benin","authors":"Ioana Botea , Markus Goldstein , Kenneth Houngbedji , Florence Kondylis , Michael O’Sullivan , Harris Selod","doi":"10.1016/j.jdeveco.2025.103675","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jdeveco.2025.103675","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In many parts of the world, women’s land rights remain informal, leaving widows – especially those without a male heir – at high risk of losing access to their land and homes when their husbands die. We study whether large-scale land formalization programs can improve widows’ tenure security, using data from a randomized controlled trial in rural Benin. Four years after the intervention, widows in villages with land formalization were significantly more likely to remain in their homes, with the strongest effects among those without a male heir. We identify two key mechanisms: increased community recognition of women’s land rights and greater decision-making power over land resources. These findings highlight the potential of land formalization to strengthen women’s tenure security and promote their long-term economic stability in similar settings.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48418,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Development Economics","volume":"179 ","pages":"Article 103675"},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145528346","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-02-01Epub Date: 2025-10-31DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2025.103680
Liping Chen , Jiada Lin , Zhifeng Wang
This study examines the role of peer personality in shaping the mental health of adolescent students. We use data from the China Education Panel Survey and focus on schools that implement random class assignment to identify causal peer effects. Exploiting the exogenous variation in peer personality across classes within the same school and grade, we find that peer openness significantly improves students’ mental health, while the effect of peer persistence is negligible. Moreover, a mechanism analysis reveals that the beneficial effects of peer openness operate through improvements in classroom environment and teacher–student relationships.
{"title":"Externalities of the personality traits: The effect of peer personality on students’ mental health","authors":"Liping Chen , Jiada Lin , Zhifeng Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.jdeveco.2025.103680","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jdeveco.2025.103680","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study examines the role of peer personality in shaping the mental health of adolescent students. We use data from the China Education Panel Survey and focus on schools that implement random class assignment to identify causal peer effects. Exploiting the exogenous variation in peer personality across classes within the same school and grade, we find that peer openness significantly improves students’ mental health, while the effect of peer persistence is negligible. Moreover, a mechanism analysis reveals that the beneficial effects of peer openness operate through improvements in classroom environment and teacher–student relationships.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48418,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Development Economics","volume":"179 ","pages":"Article 103680"},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145528348","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-02-01Epub Date: 2025-10-29DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2025.103667
Ana María Ibáñez ⓡ , Sandra V. Rozo ⓡ , Dany Bahar ⓡ , María José Urbina
This paper examines the impacts of a regularization program that granted temporary economic rights to over 281,000 undocumented Venezuelan forced migrants in Colombia. The program resulted in a general reduction in crimes committed by forced migrants, while also increasing the number of domestic abuse and sex crimes female migrants reported. These findings suggest that empowerment and greater trust in local authorities are key mechanisms driving the behavioral changes for females, while proper enforcement facilitated by adequate documentation and the positive income effects of the program reduced the general propensity for migrants to commit crimes.
{"title":"Protecting the vulnerable: How migrant regularization reduces crime and empowers women","authors":"Ana María Ibáñez ⓡ , Sandra V. Rozo ⓡ , Dany Bahar ⓡ , María José Urbina","doi":"10.1016/j.jdeveco.2025.103667","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jdeveco.2025.103667","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper examines the impacts of a regularization program that granted temporary economic rights to over 281,000 undocumented Venezuelan forced migrants in Colombia. The program resulted in a general reduction in crimes committed by forced migrants, while also increasing the number of domestic abuse and sex crimes female migrants reported. These findings suggest that empowerment and greater trust in local authorities are key mechanisms driving the behavioral changes for females, while proper enforcement facilitated by adequate documentation and the positive income effects of the program reduced the general propensity for migrants to commit crimes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48418,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Development Economics","volume":"179 ","pages":"Article 103667"},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145473632","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-02-01Epub Date: 2025-11-01DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2025.103677
Shan Jin , Tiancheng Liu , Zepeng Sun , Xiaomeng Zhang
Social isolation policies, often implemented during major public health or social crises, can exert profound effects on both mental health and economic behavior. This study exploits an abrupt campus-wide restriction on in-person interactions as a natural experiment to examine the consequences of prolonged isolation among young adults. Using both within-subject and between-subject analyses, we find that extended separation from normal social life significantly heightens negative emotions, which in turn partially mediate a decline in cooperative behavior and a rise in antisocial tendencies. Specifically, cooperation decreased by 25.2% and antisocial punishment rose by 86.2% after eight weeks of enforced isolation. These findings highlight the necessity of accounting for the psychological consequences of isolation policies when evaluating their broader societal impacts.
{"title":"Social isolation induced negative emotions affect economic behavior: A natural experiment study","authors":"Shan Jin , Tiancheng Liu , Zepeng Sun , Xiaomeng Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.jdeveco.2025.103677","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jdeveco.2025.103677","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Social isolation policies, often implemented during major public health or social crises, can exert profound effects on both mental health and economic behavior. This study exploits an abrupt campus-wide restriction on in-person interactions as a natural experiment to examine the consequences of prolonged isolation among young adults. Using both within-subject and between-subject analyses, we find that extended separation from normal social life significantly heightens negative emotions, which in turn partially mediate a decline in cooperative behavior and a rise in antisocial tendencies. Specifically, cooperation decreased by 25.2% and antisocial punishment rose by 86.2% after eight weeks of enforced isolation. These findings highlight the necessity of accounting for the psychological consequences of isolation policies when evaluating their broader societal impacts.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48418,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Development Economics","volume":"179 ","pages":"Article 103677"},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145473633","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-02-01Epub Date: 2025-11-25DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2025.103693
Jaideep Roy , Bibhas Saha
When automation in a developing economy displaces low-skilled workers in the advanced sector, backward sector wages may fall due to in-migration of the ‘newly’ unemployed. Fear of job and income loss may then induce office-seeking political parties to announce regulatory policies on automation for electoral success. We show that absent sectoral spillover, democratic adoption of automation is relatively higher and protects only high-skilled jobs in the advanced sector. However, the possibility of spillover limits this adoption. More specifically, if the backward sector is large, automation faces full resistance. In contrast, if the advanced sector is large, automation is moderate, making only the low-skilled jobs vulnerable. But these vulnerable workers, unlike their counterparts in the backward sector, may prefer automation because their advanced-sector wages fall below the severance pay plus backward-sector opportunities. When neither sector is large, the size of automation becomes uncertain, pushing similar economies into different growth paths.
{"title":"Electoral politics over automation in a dual economy","authors":"Jaideep Roy , Bibhas Saha","doi":"10.1016/j.jdeveco.2025.103693","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jdeveco.2025.103693","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>When automation in a developing economy displaces low-skilled workers in the advanced sector, backward sector wages may fall due to in-migration of the ‘newly’ unemployed. Fear of job and income loss may then induce office-seeking political parties to announce regulatory policies on automation for electoral success. We show that absent sectoral spillover, democratic adoption of automation is relatively higher and protects only high-skilled jobs in the advanced sector. However, the possibility of spillover limits this adoption. More specifically, if the backward sector is large, automation faces full resistance. In contrast, if the advanced sector is large, automation is moderate, making only the low-skilled jobs vulnerable. But these vulnerable workers, unlike their counterparts in the backward sector, may prefer automation because their advanced-sector wages fall below the severance pay plus backward-sector opportunities. When neither sector is large, the size of automation becomes uncertain, pushing similar economies into different growth paths.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48418,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Development Economics","volume":"179 ","pages":"Article 103693"},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145623672","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-02-01Epub Date: 2025-09-15DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2025.103623
David H. Buller, Marieke Kleemans
We study the effects of internal migration in Indonesia on labor market outcomes of non-migrants in origin areas. To address endogeneity of the decision to migrate, we instrument emigration rates with shift-share labor demand shocks in destination areas interacted with historical migration patterns. Using detailed longitudinal data from over 36,000 individuals, whom we observe over a 27-year period, we find that a one percentage point increase in the emigration rate leads to a 3.42% increase in hourly income for those who stay in origin areas. Given the high degree of informality in Indonesia, we then look separately at effects for formal- and informal-sector workers. In line with a dual-sector labor market model, we find that employment effects are concentrated in the formal sector and income effects are most pronounced in the informal sector. Even though emigrants tend to be higher-educated, lower-educated non-migrants benefit the most as they switch to formal sector work and benefit from higher earnings in the informal sector.
{"title":"Effects of emigration on labor markets in migrant origin areas: Evidence from internal migration in Indonesia","authors":"David H. Buller, Marieke Kleemans","doi":"10.1016/j.jdeveco.2025.103623","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jdeveco.2025.103623","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We study the effects of internal migration in Indonesia on labor market outcomes of non-migrants in origin areas. To address endogeneity of the decision to migrate, we instrument emigration rates with shift-share labor demand shocks in destination areas interacted with historical migration patterns. Using detailed longitudinal data from over 36,000 individuals, whom we observe over a 27-year period, we find that a one percentage point increase in the emigration rate leads to a 3.42% increase in hourly income for those who stay in origin areas. Given the high degree of informality in Indonesia, we then look separately at effects for formal- and informal-sector workers. In line with a dual-sector labor market model, we find that employment effects are concentrated in the formal sector and income effects are most pronounced in the informal sector. Even though emigrants tend to be higher-educated, lower-educated non-migrants benefit the most as they switch to formal sector work and benefit from higher earnings in the informal sector.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48418,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Development Economics","volume":"179 ","pages":"Article 103623"},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145362571","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-02-01Epub Date: 2025-11-11DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2025.103683
Martin Paul Jr. Tabe-Ojong , Ange T. Kakpo , Jourdain C. Lokossou
We examine the impact of extreme heat on household labor allocation using earth observation and microdata from Ghana, Mali, and Nigeria. We find that extreme heat affects household labor in distinct ways with significant cross-country heterogeneities. In Nigeria, extreme heat reduces labor use at the extensive margin but increases labor use at the intensive margin. Notably, child labor rises while adult labor declines at the extensive margin. In Mali, extreme heat leads to an overall increase in household labor, particularly among women and children, whereas Ghana shows minimal impact except for reduced child labor. Both Mali and Nigeria experience decreases in hired labor, animal traction, and associated labor costs under extreme heat exposure. These patterns could be explained by farmers’ adaptive strategies: extreme heat triggers the build-up of pests, weeds, and diseases, which could induce farmers to use more pesticides and engage in manual weeding, which are labor-demanding. Moreover, households rely on climate-resistant crop varieties and cropland expansion, which may require additional labor efforts. These findings underscore the nuanced effects of extreme heat on rural labor markets and the importance of context-specific adaptation strategies.
{"title":"Turning up the heat: Extreme heat and labor implications in West Africa","authors":"Martin Paul Jr. Tabe-Ojong , Ange T. Kakpo , Jourdain C. Lokossou","doi":"10.1016/j.jdeveco.2025.103683","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jdeveco.2025.103683","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We examine the impact of extreme heat on household labor allocation using earth observation and microdata from Ghana, Mali, and Nigeria. We find that extreme heat affects household labor in distinct ways with significant cross-country heterogeneities. In Nigeria, extreme heat reduces labor use at the extensive margin but increases labor use at the intensive margin. Notably, child labor rises while adult labor declines at the extensive margin. In Mali, extreme heat leads to an overall increase in household labor, particularly among women and children, whereas Ghana shows minimal impact except for reduced child labor. Both Mali and Nigeria experience decreases in hired labor, animal traction, and associated labor costs under extreme heat exposure. These patterns could be explained by farmers’ adaptive strategies: extreme heat triggers the build-up of pests, weeds, and diseases, which could induce farmers to use more pesticides and engage in manual weeding, which are labor-demanding. Moreover, households rely on climate-resistant crop varieties and cropland expansion, which may require additional labor efforts. These findings underscore the nuanced effects of extreme heat on rural labor markets and the importance of context-specific adaptation strategies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48418,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Development Economics","volume":"179 ","pages":"Article 103683"},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145578999","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}