IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/aep/anales/4846.html

Towards a twin transition in tourism in Latin America

Author

Listed:
  • Zarrilli Joaquín
  • Porto Natalia
  • De la Vega Pablo
  • García Carolina Inés

Abstract

Economies around the world are simultaneously undergoing two profound changes: the 'green' (sustainability-focused) transition and the 'automation’ (digital-focused) transition. This dual or ‘twin’ transition has significant implications for the tourism industry, which is a crucial source of employment for many countries. This paper explores the potential for transitions to green and digital jobs in the tourism industry. We analyse household survey data for the seven largest economies of Latin America (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, and Uruguay) for the period 2011-2024. Our main results show that the tourism sector in Latin America has high potential to reallocate workers from brown to green jobs, thereby reducing the adjustment costs of decarbonization. This capacity is particularly pronounced in Mexico and Ecuador, and is especially strong among younger cohorts, men, and workers with lower levels of formal education.

Suggested Citation

  • Zarrilli Joaquín & Porto Natalia & De la Vega Pablo & García Carolina Inés, 2025. "Towards a twin transition in tourism in Latin America," Asociación Argentina de Economía Política: Working Papers 4846, Asociación Argentina de Economía Política.
    • Handle: RePEc:aep:anales:4846
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://aaep.org.ar/works/works2025/4846.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Francesco Vona & Giovanni Marin & Davide Consoli & David Popp, 2018. "Environmental Regulation and Green Skills: An Empirical Exploration," Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, University of Chicago Press, vol. 5(4), pages 713-753.
    2. de la Vega, Pablo & Porto, Natalia & Cerimelo, Manuela, 2024. "Going green: estimating the potential of green jobs in Argentina," Journal for Labour Market Research, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 58, pages 1-1.
    3. Lo Bello, Salvatore & Sanchez Puerta, Maria Laura & Winkler, Hernan, 2019. "From Ghana to America: The Skill Content of Jobs and Economic Development," IZA Discussion Papers 12259, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Yi, Hongtao, 2014. "Green businesses in a clean energy economy: Analyzing drivers of green business growth in U.S. states," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 922-929.
    5. Cerimelo Manuela & De la Vega Pablo & Porto Natalia, 2023. "Beyond traditional wage premium. An analysis of wage greenium in Latin America," Asociación Argentina de Economía Política: Working Papers 4633, Asociación Argentina de Economía Política.
    6. Autor, David, 2013. "The "task approach" to labor markets : an overview," Journal for Labour Market Research, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 46(3), pages 185-199.
    7. Maarten Goos & Alan Manning & Anna Salomons, 2014. "Explaining Job Polarization: Routine-Biased Technological Change and Offshoring," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 104(8), pages 2509-2526, August.
    8. repec:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/1fkb59dcsg9alqqq6qv18jj5us is not listed on IDEAS
    9. Natalia Porto & Natalia Espinola, 2019. "Labor income inequalities and tourism development in Argentina: A regional approach," Tourism Economics, , vol. 25(8), pages 1265-1285, December.
    10. Epifanio, Daniele & Ernst, Christoph & Rojo Brizuela, Sofía, 2019. "Green jobs in Argentina: opportunities to move forward with the environmental and social agenda," Revista CEPAL, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), December.
    11. Consoli, Davide & Marin, Giovanni & Marzucchi, Alberto & Vona, Francesco, 2016. "Do green jobs differ from non-green jobs in terms of skills and human capital?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(5), pages 1046-1060.
    12. David H. Autor & David Dorn, 2013. "The Growth of Low-Skill Service Jobs and the Polarization of the US Labor Market," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 103(5), pages 1553-1597, August.
    13. Francesco Vona & Giovanni Marin & Davide Consoli, 2019. "Measures, drivers and effects of green employment: evidence from US local labor markets, 2006–2014," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 19(5), pages 1021-1048.
    14. Michael Lobsiger & Christian Rutzer, 2021. "The green potential of occupations in Switzerland," Swiss Journal of Economics and Statistics, Springer;Swiss Society of Economics and Statistics, vol. 157(1), pages 1-21, December.
    15. David H. Autor & Frank Levy & Richard J. Murnane, 2003. "The Skill Content of Recent Technological Change: An Empirical Exploration," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 118(4), pages 1279-1333.
    16. Rutzer, Christian & Niggli, Matthias, 2020. "Environmental Policy and Heterogeneous Labor Market Effects: Evidence from Europe," Working papers 2020/09, Faculty of Business and Economics - University of Basel.
    17. Natalia Espinola, 2016. "Segregación ocupacional por género y diferencial de ingresos en turismo: evidencia para Argentina," Económica, Departamento de Economía, Facultad de Ciencias Económicas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, vol. 62, pages 55-93, January-D.
    18. Dingel, Jonathan I. & Neiman, Brent, 2020. "How many jobs can be done at home?," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 189(C).
    19. David H. Autor & Frank Levy & Richard J. Murnane, 2003. "The skill content of recent technological change: an empirical exploration," Proceedings, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, issue nov.
    20. Acemoglu, Daron & Autor, David, 2011. "Skills, Tasks and Technologies: Implications for Employment and Earnings," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 12, pages 1043-1171, Elsevier.
    21. Natalia Espinola, 2016. "Segregación ocupacional por género y diferencial de ingresos en turismo: evidencia para Argentina," Económica, Instituto de Investigaciones Económicas, Facultad de Ciencias Económicas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, vol. 62, pages 55-93, January-D.
    22. Cristian Bonavida Foschiatti & Leonardo Gasparini, 2020. "Asimetrías en la Viabilidad del Trabajo Remoto," Asociación Argentina de Economía Política: Working Papers 4349, Asociación Argentina de Economía Política.
    23. Esther González Arnedo & Jesús Alberto Valero-Matas & Antonio Sánchez-Bayón, 2021. "Spanish Tourist Sector Sustainability: Recovery Plan, Green Jobs and Wellbeing Opportunity," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(20), pages 1-17, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. de la Vega, Pablo & Porto, Natalia & Cerimelo, Manuela, 2024. "Going green: estimating the potential of green jobs in Argentina," Journal for Labour Market Research, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 58, pages 1-1.
    2. Francesco Vona, 2023. "Skills and human capital for the low-carbon transition in developing and emerging economies," Working Papers 2023.19, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei.
    3. Vona, Francesco, "undated". "Skills and human capital for the low-carbon transition in developing and emerging economies," FEEM Working Papers 338778, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM).
    4. Janser, Markus, 2018. "The greening of jobs in Germany : First evidence from a text mining based index and employment register data," IAB-Discussion Paper 201814, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
    5. Cristian Bonavida & Irene Brambilla & Leonardo Gasparini, 2021. "Automatización y Pandemia: Amenazas sobre el Empleo en América Latina," CEDLAS, Working Papers 0288, CEDLAS, Universidad Nacional de La Plata.
    6. Marin, Giovanni & Vona, Francesco, 2019. "Climate policies and skill-biased employment dynamics: Evidence from EU countries," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    7. repec:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/5ahh4t5kfl8nprei89ignlk5nl is not listed on IDEAS
    8. Bone, Matthew & González Ehlinger, Eugenia & Stephany, Fabian, 2025. "Skills or degree? The rise of skill-based hiring for AI and green jobs," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 214(C).
    9. Tommaso AGASISTI & Geraint JOHNES & Marco PACCAGNELLA, 2021. "Tasks, occupations and wages in OECD countries," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 160(1), pages 85-112, March.
    10. Caitlin Allen Whitehead & Haroon Bhorat & Robert Hill & Tim Köhler & François Steenkamp, 2021. "The Potential Employment Implications of the Fourth Industrial Revolution Technologies: The Case of the Manufacturing, Engineering and Related Services Sector," Working Papers 202106, University of Cape Town, Development Policy Research Unit.
    11. Lin, Gary C., 2019. "High-skilled immigration and native task specialization in U.S. cities," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 289-305.
    12. Blanas, Sotiris & Oikonomou, Rigas, 2023. "COVID-induced economic uncertainty, tasks and occupational demand," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    13. Dirk Antonczyk & Thomas DeLeire & Bernd Fitzenberger, 2018. "Polarization and Rising Wage Inequality: Comparing the U.S. and Germany," Econometrics, MDPI, vol. 6(2), pages 1-33, April.
    14. repec:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/2vteelu0n785l82j764n6ul273 is not listed on IDEAS
    15. Cirillo, Valeria & Divella, Marialuisa & Ferrulli, Eustachio & Greco, Lidia, 2024. "Active labor market policies in the framework of Just Transition Programs: the case of Italy, Spain, and Germany," Working Papers 79, Austrian Foundation for Development Research (ÖFSE).
    16. Thomsen, Stephan L, 2018. "Die Rolle der Computerisierung und Digitalisierung für Beschäftigung und Einkommen," Hannover Economic Papers (HEP) dp-645, Leibniz Universität Hannover, Wirtschaftswissenschaftliche Fakultät.
    17. Wan-Jung Cheng, 2017. "Explaining Job Polarization: The Role of Heterogeneity in Capital Intensity," IEAS Working Paper : academic research 17-A015, Institute of Economics, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan, revised Feb 2018.
    18. Gregory, Terry & Salomons, Anna & Zierahn, Ulrich, 2016. "Racing With or Against the Machine? Evidence from Europe," VfS Annual Conference 2016 (Augsburg): Demographic Change 145843, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    19. Salvatori, Andrea, 2018. "The anatomy of job polarisation in the UK," Journal for Labour Market Research, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 52(1), pages 1-8.
    20. Oussama Chemlal & Wafaa Benomar, 2024. "The Technological Impact on Employment in Spain between 2023 and 2035," Forecasting, MDPI, vol. 6(2), pages 1-30, April.
    21. Maarten Goos & Alan Manning & Anna Salomons, 2014. "Explaining Job Polarization: Routine-Biased Technological Change and Offshoring," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 104(8), pages 2509-2526, August.
    22. Lewandowski, Piotr & Park, Albert & Schotte, Simone, 2020. "The Global Distribution of Routine and Non-Routine Work," IZA Discussion Papers 13384, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • E20 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - General (includes Measurement and Data)
    • Q50 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - General

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:aep:anales:4846. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Juan Manuel Quintero (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/aaeppea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.