The Economics of Cooling
Heat and Learning
What research shows about how hot days reduce students' learning and exam performance, and why school cooling can be a smart investment.
Heat doesn’t just make people uncomfortable; it can make it harder to think and learn.
The evidence
- A study by economists Jisung Park, Joshua Goodman and colleagues, published in 2020, found that in the United States, students who experienced more hot school days during the year learned less, with effects larger for students in schools without air conditioning.
- Other research found students scored lower on exams taken on hotter days.
- Studies in other countries, including in Asia, found similar patterns.
Why heat affects learning
- Concentration and memory decline in high temperatures.
- Sleep is disrupted on hot nights.
- Dehydration and fatigue.
India’s situation
Many Indian schools lack fans, ventilation or cooling, and some exams are held in hot months. Heatwaves have led states to close schools or change timings.
Human capital effects
Lost learning today can mean lower earnings later. As temperatures rise, heat could widen inequality between students in cooled and uncooled schools.
Solutions
- Fans, ventilation and cool roofs in schools.
- Shading and trees in school grounds.
- Adjusting school calendars and exam timings.
- Solar-powered cooling for schools with unreliable electricity.
The economics
Cooling schools can be a cost-effective investment in human capital.
Students take a board exam in a hot hall without fans in May. Research suggests such conditions can lower scores, which affect admissions, even though students' abilities haven't changed.
Research shows hot days reduce learning and exam performance.
- Research links hot school days to lower learning, especially without AC.
- Exams on hotter days can produce lower scores.
- Many Indian schools lack cooling and ventilation.
- Cooling schools can be a cost-effective human capital investment.
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