PhD defence Manisha Mukherjee

Keywords: Climate Change, Informal Institutions, India, Inequality

"Climate Change, Institutions, and Inequality: Evidence from India"

Climate change is having profound impacts in the Global South, where millions depend on farming. But these impacts are not felt equally. Deeply rooted social institutions, such as the dowry system, caste hierarchies, gender norms, and unequal landownership, determine who can adapt and who cannot. This dissertation investigates how rising temperatures interact with these structures to widen economic inequalities. A review of 81 studies first shows that land ownership patterns shape who migrates in response to climate change and who stays behind. It then shows that declining agricultural income makes it harder for rural families to afford the dowries required for urban grooms in rural India, preventing women from migrating to cities through marriage, a dominant form of migration amongst rural women in India, and limiting their chances of improving their living standards. Finally, this thesis finds that while men leave farming as temperatures rise, women remain trapped with declining wages, especially in historically disadvantaged landless communities. Together, these findings show that climate change not only causes economic harm but also reinforces the very structures that keep the most vulnerable from escaping its effects.

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