NATIONAL BUREAU OF ECONOMIC RESEARCH, INC.

Research Conference

Climate Change: Past and Present

May 30 and 31, 2009

Gary Libecap and Richard H. Steckel, Organizers

Royal Sonesta Hotel

Parkview Room

40 Edwin H. Land Blvd.

Cambridge, MA

PRELIMINARY PROGRAM

SATURDAY, MAY 30:

8:30 am Continental Breakfast

Non Agricultural Reponses to Climate Variation

9:00 am JOHN LANDON-LANE, Rutgers University

HUGH ROCKOFF, Rutgers University and NBER

RICHARD H. STECKEL, Ohio State and NBER

Droughts, Floods and Financial Markets in the United States

Discussants: RICHARD SUTCH, UC, Riverside and NBER

JAMES STOCK, Harvard University and NBER

10:05 am KAREN CLAY, Carnegie Mellon and NBER

WERNER TROESKEN, George Mason University and NBER

Did Frederick Brodie Discover the World's First Environmental Kuznet's Curve, and If So, Why Should Anyone Really Care?

Discussants: MELISSA THOMASSON, Miami University and NBER

MAUREEN CROPPER, University of Maryland and NBER

11:05 am Break

11:15 am PRICE FISHBACK, University of Arizona and NBER

TREVOR KOLLMAN, University of Arizona

MICHAEL HAINES, Colgate College and NBER

PAUL RHODE, University of Arizona and NBER

MELISSA THOMASSON, Miami University and NBER

The Trials of Job: Impact of Climate Change and Weather on Infant and Non-Infant Death Rates During the Great Depression

Discussants: WERNER TROESKEN, University of Pittsburgh and NBER

OLIVIER DESCHENES, UC, Santa Barbara and NBER

12:15 pm Lunch – Somerset Room

2:00 pm ANIN AROONRUENGSAWAT, UC, Berkeley

MAXIMILLIAN AUFFHAMMER, UC, Berkeley

Impacts of Climate Change on Residential Electricity Consumption: Evidence from Billing Data

Discussants: PRICE FISHBACK, University of Arizona, NBER

OLIVIER DESCHENES, UC, Santa Barbara and NBER

Agricultural Response to Climate Variation

3:05 pm MORGAN KELLY, University College, Dublin

CORMAC O’GRADA, University College, Dublin

Did Climate Matter? The Little Ice Age and European Growth

Discussants: JOHN LANDON-LANE, Rutgers University

KAREN CLAY, Carnegie Mellon University and NBER

4:10 pm Break

4:25 pm WOLFRAM SCHLENKER, Columbia University and NBER

MICHAEL ROBERTS, North Carolina State University

The Evolution of Heat Tolerance of Corn: Implications for Climate Change

Discussants: PAUL RHODE, University of Arizona and NBER

CORMAC O’GRADA, University College, Dublin

5:30 pm Adjourn

6:30 pm Group Dinner - Bambara Restaurant, 25 Edwin H. Land Blvd., Cambridge, MA

(across the street from the Sonesta)

SUNDAY, MAY 31:

8:15 am Continental Breakfast

Past Government and Market Responses to Climatic Events

8:45 am PRICE FISHBACK, University of Arizona, NBER

JONATHAN FOX, University of Arizona

PAUL RHODE, University of Arizona, NBER

The Economic Response to Climate Change in the Farm Sector: The United States, 1895-1969

Discussants: ZEYNEP K. HANSEN, Boise State University and NBER

RAGHAV GAIHA, Harvard University

9:45 am ALAN L. OLMSTEAD, UC, Davis and NBER

PAUL W. RHODE, University of Arizona and NBER

Adjusting to Climatic Variation: Historical Perspectives from North American Agricultural Development

Discussants: MICHAEL HAINES, Colgate College and NBER

WOLFRAM SCHLENKER, Columbia University and NBER

10:45 am Break

11:00 am ZEYNEP K. HANSEN, Boise State University and NBER

GARY D. LIBECAP, UC, Santa Barbara and NBER

SCOTT E. LOWE, Boise State University

Climate Variability and Water Infrastructure: Historical Experience in the Western United States

Discussants: ALAN OLMSTEAD, UC, Davis and NBER

HENDRIK WOLFF, University of Washington

12:00 n Lunch – Somerset Room

1:00 pm ROBERT S. PINDYCK, MIT and NBER

Uncertainty, Extreme Outcomes, and Climate Change Policy

Discussants: STEPHEN SALANT, University of Michigan

MARTIN WEITZMAN, Harvard University and NBER

2:00 pm RICHARD SUTCH, UC, Riverside and NBER

The Impact of the 1936 Corn-Belt Drought on American Farmers’ Adoption of Hybrid Corn

companion paper

Discussants: MICHAEL ROBERTS, North Carolina State University

HUGH ROCKOFF, Rutgers University and NBER

3:00 pm Break

3:15 pm RAGHAV GAIHA, University of Delhi, India

KENNETH HILL, Harvard University

ANTANU MATHUR, International Fund for Agricultural Development

VANI S. KULKARNI, Harvard University

On Devastating Droughts

Discussants: ROBERT PINDYCK, MIT and NBER

MAXIMILLIAN AUFFHAMMER, UC, Berkeley

4:15 pm MARTIN WEITZMAN, Harvard University and NBER

Additive Damages, Fat Tailed Climate Dynamics, and Uncertain Discounting

Discussants: ROBERT PINDYCK, MIT and NBER

STEVEN SALANT, University of Michigan

5:15 pm Wrap up and Conference Volume Discussion

5:30 pm Adjourn

5/25/09