A Ricardian analysis of the economic impact of climate change on agriculture: Evidence from the farms in the central highlands of Afghanistan

This paper provides evidence on the economic impact of climate change on agriculture in the Central Highlands of Afghanistan by exploring the climate sensitivity of crop net revenue per unit of land. A Ricardian model and a novel 2017 dataset for 1502 farmers in three central provinces along with 34 years of weather information are used to study the impact of variations in seasonal precipitation and annual temperature. The findings suggest a significant and nonlinear effect of climate factors on crop net revenue. The impact of seasonal precipitation is found to vary across space and time. The effect of increased annual temperature is found to be generally positive and significant—both statistically and economically. The predicted impact of future climate change is largely beneficial, mainly due to warming.