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Temperature and convictions: evidence from India

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 August 2023

Terry-Ann Craigie ,
Vis Taraz Open the ORCID record for Vis Taraz [Opens in a new window]  and
Mariyana Zapryanova
Terry-Ann Craigie
Affiliation:
Department of Economics, Smith College, Northampton, MA, USA
Vis Taraz*
Affiliation:
Department of Economics, Smith College, Northampton, MA, USA
Mariyana Zapryanova
Affiliation:
Department of Economics, Smith College, Northampton, MA, USA
*
*Corresponding author. E-mail: vtaraz@smith.edu
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Abstract

High temperatures have been shown to affect human cognition and decision-making in a variety of settings. In this paper, we explore the extent to which higher temperatures affect judicial decision-making in India. We use data on judicial decisions from the Indian eCourt platform, merged with high-resolution gridded daily weather data. We estimate causal effects by leveraging a fixed effects framework. We find that high daily maximum temperatures raise the likelihood of convictions and these results are robust to numerous controls and specifications. Our findings contribute to a growing literature that documents that the negative impacts of rising temperatures are often more severe in low- and middle-income countries.

Keywords

climate changeconvictionsIndiajudicial decisionstemperature

JEL classification

Q54: Climate • Natural Disasters and Their Management • Global Warming K41: Litigation Process K37: Immigration Law
Type
Research Article
Information
Environment and Development Economics , Volume 28 , Issue 6 , December 2023 , pp. 538 - 558
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press

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