American Economic Journal:
Economic Policy
ISSN 1945-7731 (Print) | ISSN 1945-774X (Online)
Responses to Extreme Temperatures: Migrant Networks and International Migration from El Salvador
American Economic Journal: Economic Policy
(pp. 212–41)
Abstract
We show that exposure to extreme temperatures significantly increases international migration from El Salvador, where nearly a quarter of the population lives in the United States. Extreme temperatures reduce corn yields, leading producers to decrease their use of postharvest inputs and demand for agricultural workers. These income losses, combined with established US migration networks, increase emigration. Our findings highlight how international migration serves as a response to extreme temperatures when destination networks are strong and migration remains financially feasible. This pattern is not unique to El Salvador: Roughly 30 million farms globally are in low-income settings with access to remittances.Citation
Ibáñez, Ana Maria, Juliana Quigua, Maria Jimena Romero, and Andrea Velásquez. 2026. "Responses to Extreme Temperatures: Migrant Networks and International Migration from El Salvador." American Economic Journal: Economic Policy 18 (2): 212–41. DOI: 10.1257/pol.20230447Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- F24 Remittances
- J15 Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
- J23 Labor Demand
- J43 Agricultural Labor Markets
- O15 Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
- Q12 Micro Analysis of Farm Firms, Farm Households, and Farm Input Markets
- Q54 Climate; Natural Disasters and Their Management; Global Warming