Distributional Impacts of Climate Change in the Agricultural Sector

Chicago, IL – November 16-17, 2023

Climate change affects all aspects of the agricultural sector, from technology and input choices, to the wages and welfare of workers, to the prices consumers pay for food and agricultural products. To promote research on the distributional impacts of climate change, the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), with the generous support of the Economic Research Service at the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), will convene a research conference in Chicago on November 16-17, 2023. The conference will be organized by Ellen Bruno and Meredith Fowlie of the University of California, Berkeley, and Danae Hernandez-Cortes of Arizona State University.

Research submissions that explore the distributional implications of climate change in an agricultural context are encouraged. Potential topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

• Assessments of how climate change and extreme weather events have affected agricultural production, food prices, and the distribution of consumer welfare for households in different income, racial, ethnic, and other groups.
• Spatial analysis of the impacts of climate change on farm incomes, environmental outcomes, crop choice, and agricultural investments.
• Development of metrics to assess the distributional impacts of climate change on incomes and livelihoods in the agricultural sector over time.
• Analysis of how shifting climate conditions, and potential policy responses to these conditions, could affect agricultural workers.
• Evaluation of how the farm-to-table supply chain could be affected by climate change, with particular attention to impacts on consumer prices, the availability of products, and food security for marginalized communities.
• The potential effects of climate-related agricultural policy alternatives, such as crop insurance programs, and incentives targeting adaptation strategies.
• The efficacy of social insurance programs, such as SNAP, in reducing the impact of climate change on low-income households.

The organizers welcome submissions of both empirical and theoretical research, including papers by scholars who are early in their careers, who are not NBER affiliates, and who are from groups that are under-represented in the economics profession. The program will prioritize research on the U.S. agricultural sector and economy. To be considered for inclusion on the program, papers must be uploaded by midnight (EDT) on Thursday, June 15, 2023 via the following link: http://conference.nber.org/confsubmit/backend/cfp?id=AEf23

Complete papers are preferred, but extended abstracts may also be submitted. Please do not submit papers that have been accepted for publication and that will be published by November 2023. Authors chosen to present papers will be notified in early July. A virtual pre-conference meeting will be convened in August 2023. The organizers will consider publishing the papers presented at this meeting in an edited NBER proceedings volume, or in a special issue of a refereed journal, subject to the interest of the paper

Questions about this conference may be addressed to confer@nber.org.