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Abstract
In this paper we examine the consequences of extreme weather events on agricultural livelihood choices and welfare outcomes among rural households in Mozambique. We do so by first building a unique historical record of local (enumeration-area) weather event that we match with household survey data. We build the event history by drawing on daily spatial datasets for rainfall and temperature from 1981 to 2015. We build a spatial history of agricultural droughts in Mozambique that account for regional differences in growing seasons. We also utilize for the first time a dataset that maps the impact of all named tropical storms affecting Mozambique from 1968 to 2015. We use geo-referenced household data from 7,400 households in Mozambique to identify production technology choices and measure asset accumulations. Exploiting spatial cross-sectional variations, we show how weather risks adversely affect household choices about production technologies and input use. We show how past exposure to extreme weather events, including typhoons and droughts, adversely impact productive stock accumulations and household wealth.