Work

Destructive Behavior, Judgment, and Economic Decision-making under Thermal Stress

Year: 2019

Type: report

Study designs: Randomized Controlled Trial, Clinical Trial

Abstract: Accumulating evidence indicates that environmental temperature substantially affects economic outcomes and violence, but the reasons for this linkage are not well understood.We systematically evaluate the effect of thermal stress on multiple dimensions of economic decisionmaking, judgment, and destructive behavior with 2,000 participants in Kenya and the US who were randomly assigned to different temperatures in a laboratory.We find that most dimensions of decision-making are unaffected by temperature.However, heat causes individuals to voluntarily destroy other participants' assets, with more pronounced effects during a period of heightened political conflict in Kenya.Randomized controlled trials registry entray available at https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/1361

Source: National Bureau of Economic Research

DOI: 10.3386/w25785

Authors: Ingvild Almås, Maximilian Auffhammer, Tessa Bold, Ian Bolliger, Aluma Dembo, Solomon Hsiang, Shuhei Kitamura, Edward Miguel, Robert Pickmans

Institutions: Stockholm University, National Bureau of Economic Research, University of California, Berkeley, University of Oxford, The University of Osaka

Language: English

Topic: Decision-Making and Behavioral Economics

Subfield: General Decision Sciences

Field: Decision Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Peace, justice, and strong institutions

Open Access status: green

Funders: Vetenskapsrådet, Peder Sather Center for Advanced Study, Center for Advanced Study, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

OpenAlex ID: W2943187553

Cites: 79

Cited by: 28

Related to: 10