What the study found
The review found that climate adaptation economics has developed into a broad research area with evolving trends, methods, and themes. It also found that adaptation responses differ across households and firms, and that recent work increasingly uses integrated, multi-method analyses.
Why the authors say this matters
The authors conclude that adaptation is a critical part of global climate risk management. They also suggest the field should better identify heterogeneous adaptation behaviors, study vulnerable regions, and improve long-term modeling and related theory.
What the researchers tested
The researchers conducted a systematic review and bibliometric analysis of 6,248 publications from 1978 to 2025. They also evaluated core methodological approaches used in the field and synthesized theoretical and empirical findings.
What worked and what didn't
The review says methods have strengths for capturing behavioral responses, estimating causal effects, and modeling dynamic optimization. It reports a shift away from static frameworks toward integrated, multi-method analyses, and it identifies household responses such as consumption changes, agricultural practices, and migration, as well as firm responses including product diversification, relocation, supply chain reconfiguration, and technological innovation.
What to keep in mind
The abstract does not report study-specific limitations beyond noting future research needs. The review’s findings are based on the publications it analyzed and on the topics described in the abstract.
Key points
- The paper is a systematic review and bibliometric analysis of 6,248 publications on climate adaptation economics.
- The authors describe adaptation as a critical component of global climate risk management.
- Research methods in the field are described as shifting from static frameworks to integrated, multi-method analyses.
- Households adapt through consumption changes, agricultural practices, and migration.
- Firms adapt through product diversification, relocation, supply chain reconfiguration, and technological innovation.
Disclosure
- Research title:
- Review maps economics of climate adaptation research
- Authors:
- Xi Ming, Hongbo Duan
- Institutions:
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
- Publication date:
- 2026-03-07
- OpenAlex record:
- View
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