Mortality, temperature, and public health provision: evidence from Mexico

Cohen, François and Dechezleprêtre, Antoine (2022) Mortality, temperature, and public health provision: evidence from Mexico. American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 14 (2). pp. 161-192. ISSN 1945-7731

Text (AEJPol-2018-0594 REV3 manuscript-POSTPRINT) - Accepted Version Download (2MB)

• https://pubs.aeaweb.org/doi/10.1257/pol....

Abstract

We examine the impact of temperature on mortality in Mexico using daily data over the period 1998–2017 and find that 3.8 percent of deaths in Mexico are caused by suboptimal temperature (26,000 every year). However, 92 percent of weather-related deaths are induced by cold (<12 degrees C) or mildly cold (12–20 degrees C) days and only 2 percent by outstandingly hot days (>32 degrees C). Furthermore, temperatures are twice as likely to kill people in the bottom half of the income distribution. Finally, we show causal evidence that the Seguro Popular, a universal health care policy, has saved at least 1,600 lives per year from cold weather since 2004.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	© 2022 American Economic Association.
Divisions:	Grantham Research Institute
Date Deposited:	02 Aug 2022 17:03
Last Modified:	18 Apr 2024 01:15
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/115766

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