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WASHINGTON (AP) — A new study says the hotter it is the less productive Americans are on the job.
The study by the National Bureau of Economic Research says on days that average about 77 degrees, people's income is reduced by about $5 a day when compared with days that are about 20 degrees cooler.
The study also says that a county's average economic productivity decreases by nearly 1 percent for every degree that the average daily temperature is above 59.
This has been seen in other studies in hotter, less developed areas such as India. But scientists and economists often assumed it wouldn't be the case for richer countries with air conditioning, like the United States.
Study co-author Solomon Hsiang of the University of California, Berkeley, says productivity is maximized when the daily high temperature hits between 65 and 70 degrees.
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