Record heatwaves have hit many countries across the globe this summer from the UK to Japan.

Politicians in the UK have warned that the current heatwave could become the new normal for UK summers by 2040 because of climate change.

How will this affect the labor market?

Marie Connolly writes that, “Previous work using US data has shown that people respond to short-term higher temperatures by reducing time spent at work and engaging in outdoor leisure, and by increasing indoor leisure.”

Connolly warns that, “…most of the research has focused on the US, whereas the impacts of climate change will be felt globally. Developing economies likely have fewer resources to invest in adaptive strategies with potentially substantial consequences for increasing inequality. Policies that facilitate adaption will help reduce associated costs. For example, allowing more flexible working hours would enable people to adapt more easily to hot temperatures, by shifting their working hours to cooler moments of the day or to cooler days.”

Read further articles on the environment and the labor market:

• Climate change, natural disasters, and migration by Linguère Mously Mbaye

• Climate change and the allocation of time by Marie Connolly

• Does hot weather affect human fertility? by Alan Barreca

• The labor market in Australia, 2000-2016 (Deutsch) by Garry Barrett

• The labor market in Sweden since the 1990s (Deutsch) by Nils Gottfries

Visit the IZA World of Labor site for more concise, informative, evidence-based articles across the spectrum of labor economics.

All newly published one-pagers are also available to read and download in German. Find out more.

Many countries have made divorce easier over the past few decades, dropping fault requirements in favor of mutual agreement, or even allowing unilateral divorce (i.e. not requiring the consent of both spouses). Separation requirements have also been reduced or dropped. Is this trend a good idea? What are the short- and long-term consequences for couples and for society as a whole? Read the full commentary.

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• IZA Workshop on the Economics of Employee Representation: International Perspectives, September 9-8. The aim of this conference is to bring together researchers analyzing (the effects of different) forms of non-union representation, and to put their findings into international comparative perspective. 

• IZA/CEPR Annual Symposium in Labour Economics 2018, September 20-21. This year's symposium features a keynote talk by Jesse Rothstein (University of California, Berkeley and IZA). The goal of the symposium is to provide a forum for high-quality work in labour economics and to bring together economists in the field from across Europe as well as key researchers from outside the region. 

• IDSC of IZA Workshop: Matching Workers and Jobs Online - New Developments and Opportunities for Social Science and Practice, September 21-22. Like many forms of economic exchange, the process of matching workers to jobs has rapidly migrated online in the last two decades.

• 3rd IZA Workshop: The Economics of Education, October 4-6. The aim of the workshop is to bring together about 30 researchers working on the economics of education, in particular on the theme “Education and the Labor Market”.

• Call for papers: ADAPT International Conference: Professionality, Employment Contracts and Collective Bargaining. November 30-December 1. The most recent evolution in work and production – stemming not only from the impact of technology, but also from globalization and demographic dynamics – opens a new and particularly attractive field of scientific debate. Submission deadline: September 1