López Méndez, Christopher

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    El efecto de las perturbaciones energéticas y climáticas en el empleo agrícola en Puerto Rico
    (2020-05-29) López Méndez, Christopher; Hernández Correa, Julio C.; College of Agricultural Sciences; Gregory Crespo, Alexandra; Valentín Mari, Jeffry; Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology; Cabrera Ríos, Mauricio
    This thesis evaluates the effect of extreme weather conditions and the input costs on agricultural employment in Puerto Rico. In the period from 2014 to 2016, Puerto Rico had the most severe drought in the last 100 years, representing losses of $34 million to agriculture (DRNA, 2016). Then, Hurricane Maria left about 40 inches of rain with winds of 155 to 175 mph and the damage is estimated to be $120 billion (U.S. Department of Energy, 2018). In addition, hurricanes Irma and María reduced the agricultural value in 80% and generate damages that could exceed $2 billion (EEA, 2018; Rodríguez-Cruz & Niles, 2018). To add to the urgency of studies like this in Puerto Rico, the Germanwatch report (2019) establishes that the island is among the ten territories most vulnerable to climate change. This thesis seeks to estimate a job demand function in the agricultural sector in Puerto Rico. As independent variables, climate conditions, and input prices were evaluated. The estimation method used was the dynamic panel regression proposed by Arellano & Bover (1995) and Bundell & Bond (1998). Agricultural employment was found to be susceptible to changes in the climate and input costs changes, particularly energy costs.