Heat Economics: How to Reduce Worker Productivity Losses?

Abstract

Under climate change, heat-induced stress became a common phenomenon where the condition increases workers’ exposure to heat-related illness and leads to a decrease in work productivity. As a result, heat-related work productivity loss greatly impacts economies today, both developing and developed countries alike. However, many of the popular mitigation strategies used in current societies today are inaccessible due to high costs, impose danger to individual health, and are not sustainable for the planet. This research explores the weaknesses of current widely-used mitigation methods and evaluates feasible alternative approaches that are more effective long-term for heat mitigation and sustainability. By analyzing an array of case studies, this research concludes that countries should adopt a set of multiple sustainable methods, improving both short-term heat stress and long-term sustainability to benefit their economies.