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Greener jobs, higher wages? The Latin American wage greenium

Author

Listed:
  • Cerimelo, Manuela
  • de la Vega, Pablo
  • Vazquez, Franco
  • Porto, Natalia

Abstract

We study the wage gap between those who are in green jobs and those who are not (the wage greenium), in nine major Latin American countries that account for 81% of the region’s GDP: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru and Uruguay. We contribute to the recent literature focused on developed countries that highlights a positive wage gap for those working in green jobs. We use the occupational approach to define green jobs and find that, in Latin America, they pay 15.8% more than non-green jobs. This result may be a desirable market feature, as workers might be encouraged to switch to greener occupations. In addition, we find that the wage greenium increases with the years of education, which suggests that workers with a medium or high educational level in green jobs are better off than their counterparts in non-green jobs.

Suggested Citation

  • Cerimelo, Manuela & de la Vega, Pablo & Vazquez, Franco & Porto, Natalia, 2026. "Greener jobs, higher wages? The Latin American wage greenium," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 77-92.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:streco:v:77:y:2026:i:c:p:77-92
    DOI: 10.1016/j.strueco.2025.12.016
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    JEL classification:

    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • Q50 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - General
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials

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