Economic impacts of climate change: profitability of freshwater aquaculture in China

Aquaculture is threatened by the climate change which includes changes in temperature, precipitation, drought, storms and floods. The socio-economic impacts of climate change on aquaculture are difficult to assess due to the uncertainties regarding the extent and rate of predicted changes. By including bond indexes as climate change variables, this study constructed a provincial-level panel data set to estimate the profits and productivity of the Chinese aquaculture. Results indicate that aquaculture production has heterogeneous responses to climate change. However, the majority of climate variables, including extreme weather events and long-term climate changes, strongly affect aquaculture profits. Future research needs to focus on designing suitable adaptation measures in an interdisciplinary setting to address the challenges from natural risks and economic volatility.