Climate Change Is Shifting Voter Behavior in Low-Income Countries — Amrit Amirapu, Irma Clots-Figueras, Juan Pablo Rud

Farmers in low-income countries have multiple channels through which they respond to climate change. Some switch to growing more heat-resilient crops or crops that require less water. Others migrate or leave agriculture altogether. In new research, Amrit Amirapu, Irma Clots-Figueras, and Juan Pablo Rud find that temperature shocks to agricultural production in India increase voter turnout in rural areas and push rural voters to elect candidates who are on average poorer, less tainted by corruption, and have a background in agriculture....

A growing academic literature documents how farmers in low-income countries respond to the harmful effects of extreme heat on agricultural production. In many cases, farmers can change the way they produce, by using more land or labor or by switching crops. They can also try to move out of agricultural activities, sell assets, or migrate. Alternatively, citizens in rural areas may look to change the political and economic institutions that they deem are not taking their concerns seriously enough, sometimes leading to conflicts in response to adverse shocks..…

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Climate Change Is Shifting Voter Behavior in Low-Income Countries
Amrit Amirapu, Irma Clots-Figueras, Juan Pablo Rud