Wait, What is Winter Again? - A Random Thought on Economics of Everlasting Summer
When people are bored, they talk about the weather. It is the conversation to end all conversations, a topic so bland that you will start to question your friendship with the person you are talking to. Yet, few hours after transiting from Hong Kong to Bangkok, this traveler cannot stop reminding himself just how much "good weather" really means for traveling...and perhaps living in general. Although plenty south already in a part of world where the word "snow" probably means climatic apocalypse in both metaphorical and practical terms, even slight temperature differences certainly do mean a lot.
Non-stopping rain and temperature hovering only a few above ten degrees Celsius welcomed the traveler in his three-day tour of Hong Kong and Macau, where the drab grey-ness (maybe with extra help from smog across the border in the industrial zones of Guangdong) gave off that memorable image of London's skies for, well, most of the year. For the first time in a year and a half, the traveler realized just how much he is no longer physically capable of tolerating any weather aside from the bright sunny (or at least, hot moist) summer-all-year-around weather of tropical Southeast Asia.
Landing in Bangkok only served to convince him even more of his conviction. Rather chilly for the city at lower twenties Celsius, the temperature nonetheless felt so welcoming and more importantly, so homelike. Having ridiculed Singaporeans and Malaysians back in London for wearing heavy coats during the "warm" spring months, the traveler now embarrassingly understands that if he were to go back to Europe now, he will be behaving exactly the same way. The power of the human body to adapt to the environment, to say the least, is not something to be underestimated.
To diverge on the topic a bit, the readers should know that there is, despite the sheer nature of its associated political incorrectness, still a large borderline-academic literature on the relationship between weather and economic development, temperature and temperament, rainfall and wealth. Due to the fact that most of the warm global south remain economically inferior to the global north,with their nasty, inhospitable weathers, arguments that enjoying the weather reduces labor efficiency and desire for development abounds.
Although the author has previously argued that only in certain extreme cases, weather patterns can make independent economic feasibility quite questionable, modern-day free trade system ought to allow for even the "laziest" peoples to exploit comparative advantages in something. The explosion of mass tourism in Southeast Asia is a perfect example of this. The weather itself became a major source of cash-earner. Barring serious climate change in the future and political instability, this very comparative advantage will not go away.
But then again, the total geographic area of this part of the world that do not see winter is not particularly small, stretching through Central America, large swaths of Africa, the Middle East, Indian sub-continent, Southeast Asia, and Pacific islands. Even within the countries occupying this broad region, there are large gaps in wealth and certainly, incomes from tourism coming from similar-quality beaches and rain forests. Some are more politically stable and institutionally developed than others, a fact by itself can nullify any attempt to connect weather patterns with wealth.
Conversely though, does the fact that having horrible weather increase the need for more development in some way? Superficially speaking, colder weather lead to greater demand for energy and growth of an industry focused on how to keep people warm and comfortable. It will stimulate creation of sectors focused on how to keep vehicles and logistic networks running despite all the environmental obstacles. There will be more investment on indoor facilities, construction materials, maintenance systems, just to name a few.
One thing is for sure: the author is getting a bit too distracted for sitting in a library and thinking up answers for these hard questions when it is so nice, bright, and sunny outside. The effect of weather? You might be able to say that. But, hey, in his humble opinion, the author thinks no weather is more exciting than seeing the first snow of the year. That bright whiteness reflecting off roofs as far as the eyes can see - no one can stay concentrated and productive in that situation despite the chilling winds. And surely, there is nothing related to "tropical laziness" about that.
Non-stopping rain and temperature hovering only a few above ten degrees Celsius welcomed the traveler in his three-day tour of Hong Kong and Macau, where the drab grey-ness (maybe with extra help from smog across the border in the industrial zones of Guangdong) gave off that memorable image of London's skies for, well, most of the year. For the first time in a year and a half, the traveler realized just how much he is no longer physically capable of tolerating any weather aside from the bright sunny (or at least, hot moist) summer-all-year-around weather of tropical Southeast Asia.
Landing in Bangkok only served to convince him even more of his conviction. Rather chilly for the city at lower twenties Celsius, the temperature nonetheless felt so welcoming and more importantly, so homelike. Having ridiculed Singaporeans and Malaysians back in London for wearing heavy coats during the "warm" spring months, the traveler now embarrassingly understands that if he were to go back to Europe now, he will be behaving exactly the same way. The power of the human body to adapt to the environment, to say the least, is not something to be underestimated.
To diverge on the topic a bit, the readers should know that there is, despite the sheer nature of its associated political incorrectness, still a large borderline-academic literature on the relationship between weather and economic development, temperature and temperament, rainfall and wealth. Due to the fact that most of the warm global south remain economically inferior to the global north,with their nasty, inhospitable weathers, arguments that enjoying the weather reduces labor efficiency and desire for development abounds.
Although the author has previously argued that only in certain extreme cases, weather patterns can make independent economic feasibility quite questionable, modern-day free trade system ought to allow for even the "laziest" peoples to exploit comparative advantages in something. The explosion of mass tourism in Southeast Asia is a perfect example of this. The weather itself became a major source of cash-earner. Barring serious climate change in the future and political instability, this very comparative advantage will not go away.
But then again, the total geographic area of this part of the world that do not see winter is not particularly small, stretching through Central America, large swaths of Africa, the Middle East, Indian sub-continent, Southeast Asia, and Pacific islands. Even within the countries occupying this broad region, there are large gaps in wealth and certainly, incomes from tourism coming from similar-quality beaches and rain forests. Some are more politically stable and institutionally developed than others, a fact by itself can nullify any attempt to connect weather patterns with wealth.
Conversely though, does the fact that having horrible weather increase the need for more development in some way? Superficially speaking, colder weather lead to greater demand for energy and growth of an industry focused on how to keep people warm and comfortable. It will stimulate creation of sectors focused on how to keep vehicles and logistic networks running despite all the environmental obstacles. There will be more investment on indoor facilities, construction materials, maintenance systems, just to name a few.
One thing is for sure: the author is getting a bit too distracted for sitting in a library and thinking up answers for these hard questions when it is so nice, bright, and sunny outside. The effect of weather? You might be able to say that. But, hey, in his humble opinion, the author thinks no weather is more exciting than seeing the first snow of the year. That bright whiteness reflecting off roofs as far as the eyes can see - no one can stay concentrated and productive in that situation despite the chilling winds. And surely, there is nothing related to "tropical laziness" about that.
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