Climate change effects on production and income: evidence from Chad

Abstract

Purpose This paper empirically analyses climate change effects in Chad. Design/methodology/approach Using temperature and precipitation averages, we analyse the effects of climate variations on production, income and consumption. Findings Estimating a simultaneous equation model with the Zellner’s Seemingly Unrelated Regression (SUR) estimator, the results show a statistically zero temperature effect while precipitations show a statistically significant effect. Precipitations are positively related to production and income but inversely to consumption. These conclusions confirm existing findings on negative effects of climate change. Furthermore, they confirm on the one hand, the difficulty of analysing climate change effects and highlight the need to carry out country-specific analysis. On the other hand, it is evidence of the existence of climatic issues in Chad. The findings are relevant in improving approaches of climate adaptation and mitigation, both at local and global levels. Originality/value The study complements the extant literature by assessing how climate change affects income and production in Chad.