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Measures, Drivers and Effects of Green Employment: Evidence from US Local Labor Markets, 2006-2014

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  • Vona, Francesco
  • Marin, Giovanni
  • Consoli, Davide

Abstract

This paper explores the nature and the key empirical regularities of green employment in US local labor markets between 2006 and 2014. We construct a new measure of green employment based on the task content of occupations. Descriptive analysis reveals the following: 1. the share of green employment oscillates between 2 and 3 percent, and its trend is strongly pro-cyclical; 2. green jobs yield a 4 percent wage premium; 3. despite moderate catching-up across areas, green jobs remain more geographically concentrated than similar non-green jobs; and 4. the top green areas are mostly high-tech. As regards the drivers, changes in environmental regulation are a secondary force compared to the local endowment of green knowledge and resilience in the face of the great recession. To assess the impact of moving to greener activities, we estimate that one additional green job is associated with 4.2 (2.4 in the crisis period) new jobs in non-tradable activities in the local economies.

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  • Vona, Francesco & Marin, Giovanni & Consoli, Davide, 2016. "Measures, Drivers and Effects of Green Employment: Evidence from US Local Labor Markets, 2006-2014," MITP: Mitigation, Innovation and Transformation Pathways 243149, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM).
  • Handle: RePEc:ags:feemmi:243149
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.243149
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Labor and Human Capital;

    JEL classification:

    • J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
    • Q52 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Pollution Control Adoption and Costs; Distributional Effects; Employment Effects
    • R23 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population

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