Extreme Weather Events and Internal Migration: Evidence from Mongolia

Abstract This article examines the effects of extreme weather events on internal migration in Mongolia. Our focus is dzuds , extremely harsh winters characterized by very cold temperature, snowfall anomalies, and/or storms causing high livestock mortality. We exploit exogenous variation intensity winter across time and space to identify their causal impacts permanent domestic migration. database a series population data at provincial district level from official registries, spanning 1992-2018 period. Results obtained with two-way fixed panel estimator show that cause significant sizeable out-migration affected provinces for up two years after an event. These are confirmed when considering net change rates overall level. The occurrence also strong predictor declines local pastoralist households, socio-economic group most those events. suggests abandonment livelihoods important channel through which climate affects within-country