World Congress of Environmental and Resource Economists (WCERE)

Thematic Session: Climate Change and Migration | Wednesday 1 July 2026

Broadening Climate Migration Research Across Impacts, Adaptation, and Mitigation (2:15pm - 4:00pm)
Cristina Cattaneo, Soheil Shayegh, Christoph Albert, Maria Alsina-Pujols, Hélène Benveniste, Marion Borderon, Bruno Conte, Christoph Deuster, Joseph-Simon Görlach, Toon Haer, Roman Hoffmann, Raya Muttarak, Michele Ronco, Jacob Schewe, Arkadiusz Wiśniowski

Current climate migration literature focuses on establishing links between climate drivers and migration. However, it often overlooks the broader role migration plays within the context of climate impacts, adaptation, and the connection with mitigation. This article highlights four key research gaps: (1) the effectiveness of migration as an adaptation strategy, (2) how migration interacts with in-situ adaptation efforts, (3) migration’s impacts on origin and destination communities, and (4) feedback between climate mitigation policies and migration. To address these gaps, we propose solutions grounded in strengthening conceptual frameworks, expanded and harmonized data, and advancing methodological innovation. Together, these efforts can inform policymaking to better protect vulnerable populations, allocate resources more effectively, and strengthen resilience and justice.

Thematic Session: Climate Change and Migration | Thursday 2 July 2026

Session Chair: Roman Hoffmann

To Move or Stay? Migration Aspirations Amid Conflict and Climate Change (11:00am - 12:45pm)
Kerim Can Kavakli, Christoph Deuster, Simone Ghislandi, Roman Hoffmann, William Kemp, Raya Muttarak

Approximately one-seventh of the world’s population lived within 5 km of organized violence as of 2023. Many of these areas are also highly vulnerable to climatic shocks, compounding insecurity and competition over scarce resources. Yet, little is known about how simultaneous exposure to climate extremes and violent conflict shapes migration decisions. To address this gap, we merge geo-referenced Gallup World Poll interviews from 144 countries over the period 2009 to 2022 with high-resolution measures of conflict and drought events. We analyze this dataset using a linear-probability model with a rich set of fixed effects and estimate the joint effect of conflict and drought events on migration aspirations. We find that conflict exposure and drought both exert significant positive effects on respondents’ aspirations to migrate. When individuals experience both shocks simultaneously, their probability of expressing migration aspirations roughly doubles, rising from an average of 23 percent to 45 percent. These compound effects of overlapping stressors are larger in poorer and less democratic countries, and among women, youth, and the less educated. Our findings highlight how conflict and climate risks can interact to heighten migration pressures and provide evidence for an integrated perspective in policy and research that considers both risks jointly.

Session: Adaptation to Natural Disasters | Thursday 2 July 2026

Information frictions, overconfidence, and learning: Experimental evidence from a floodplain (2:15pm - 4:00pm)
Sofia Badini

I use an online experiment to study whether offering information to floodplain residents is sufficient to change their perceived risk exposure and demand for insurance. Participants are offered information on the flood risk profile at their address and on the national rules over compensation of flood damages. I find that respondents tend to misperceive their risk category according to publicly available flood maps, but express high levels of confidence in their guesses. When not prompted to engage with the information they are offered, one third of them read nothing. When prompted to read information on their risk profile, respondents —particularly residents of high risk areas— tend to stop reading any further and report a lower willingness-to-pay for insurance, but do not update their beliefs differently on average. Spontaneous comments from participants suggest backlash to information emphasizing personal responsibility, concern over their house losing value, distrust towards information from government and media, and aversion to insurance companies.