Essays on the Economic and Health Effects of Environmental Shocks

This thesis investigates how different types of environmental shocks affect the health, wellbeing and economic preferences of vulnerable populations in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Firstly, it examines the effects of flood exposure on the mental and physical health of urban poor adults and children in Indonesia. Secondly, it investigates how high temperatures affect people’s ability to make rational economic decisions, their risk aversion and their economic impatience. It also investigates the mechanisms behind this relationship. Finally, it examines the effects of heat on the health and liveability of adults and children residing in informal settlements in two tropical countries, Indonesia and Fiji.