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Measures, drivers and effects of green employment : evidence form US local labor markets, 2006-2014

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  • Francesco Vona

    (Observatoire français des conjonctures économiques)

  • Giovanni Marin

    (Università degli Studi di Urbino Carlo Bo)

  • Davide Consoli

    (Institute of Innovation and Knowledge Management)

Abstract

This paper explores the nature and the key empirical regularities ofgreen employment in US local labor markets between 2006 and 2014. Weconstruct a new measure of green employment based on the task contentof occupations. Descriptive analysis reveals the following: 1. the share of green employment oscillates between 2 and 3 percent, and its trend isstrongly 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 greenareas 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) newjobs in non-tradable activities in the local economies.

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  • Francesco Vona & Giovanni Marin & Davide Consoli, 2016. "Measures, drivers and effects of green employment : evidence form US local labor markets, 2006-2014," Sciences Po publications 2016-22, Sciences Po.
    • Handle: RePEc:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/2lpvf5mlr48dkah5qda4hh4e9g
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    Cited by:

    1. Gianluca Orsatti & François Perruchas & Davide Consoli & Francesco Quatraro, 2020. "Public Procurement, Local Labor Markets and Green Technological Change. Evidence from US Commuting Zones," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 75(4), pages 711-739, April.
    2. Francesco Vona, 2019. "Job losses and political acceptability of climate policies: why the ‘job-killing’ argument is so persistent and how to overturn it," Climate Policy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(4), pages 524-532, April.
    3. Filippo Bontadini & Francesco Vona, 2020. "Anatomy of Green Specialization: Evidence from EU Production Data, 1995-2015," Working Papers hal-03403070, HAL.
    4. Céline Antonin & Mattia Guerini & Mauro Napoletano & Francesco Vona, 2019. "Italy : escaping the high debt and low-growth trap," Sciences Po publications info:hdl:2441/me28b7aoi8k, Sciences Po.
    5. Filippo Bontadini & Francesco Vona, 2020. "Anatomy of Green Specialization: Evidence from EU Production Data, 1995-2015: Evidence from EU Production Data, 1995-2015," Sciences Po publications 21, Sciences Po.
    6. Fulvio Castellacci & Davide Consoli & Artur Santoalha, 2018. "Technological Diversification in European Regions: The Role of E-skills," Working Papers on Innovation Studies 20181009, Centre for Technology, Innovation and Culture, University of Oslo.
    7. Lionel Nesta & Elena Verdolini & Francesco Vona, 2018. "Threshold Policy Effects and Directed Technical Change in Energy Innovation," Documents de Travail de l'OFCE 2018-05, Observatoire Francais des Conjonctures Economiques (OFCE).
    8. David Popp, 2019. "Environmental Policy and Innovation: A Decade of Research," NBER Working Papers 25631, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    9. 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).
    10. Gianluca ORSATTI, 2019. "Public R&D and green knowledge diffusion:\r\nEvidence from patent citation data," Cahiers du GREThA (2007-2019) 2019-17, Groupe de Recherche en Economie Théorique et Appliquée (GREThA).
    11. Francesco Vona, 2018. "Job losses and the political acceptability of climate policies : an amplified collective action problem," Sciences Po publications info:hdl:2441/7upb3pbvdn8, Sciences Po.
    12. Giovanni Marin & Marco Modica, 2021. "Local demand shocks and firms' survival: An application to the Italian economy during the Great Recession," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 100(3), pages 745-775, June.
    13. Elliott, Robert J. R. & Kuai, Wenjing & Maddison, David & Ozgen, Ceren, 2021. "Eco-Innovation and Employment: A Task-Based Analysis," IZA Discussion Papers 14028, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    14. Patrizia Ghisellini & Renato Passaro & Sergio Ulgiati, 2021. "Revisiting Keynes in the Light of the Transition to Circular Economy," Circular Economy and Sustainability,, Springer.
    15. Barbieri, Nicolò & Consoli, Davide, 2019. "Regional diversification and green employment in US metropolitan areas," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(3), pages 693-705.
    16. 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].
    17. Noelia Araújo & Lucília Cardoso & Jose Antonio Fraiz Brea & Arthur Filipe De Araújo, 2018. "Green Jobs: The Present and Future of the Building Industry. Evolution Analysis," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 7(12), pages 1-17, December.
    18. Artur Santoalha & Davide Consoli & Fulvio Castellacci, 2019. "Do digital skills foster green diversification? A study of European regions," Working Papers on Innovation Studies 20191029, Centre for Technology, Innovation and Culture, University of Oslo.
    19. Ruault, Jean-François & Dupré la Tour, Alice & Evette, André & Allain, Sandrine & Callois, Jean-Marc, 2022. "A biodiversity-employment framework to protect biodiversity," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    20. Davide Consoli & Mabel Sánchez-Barrioluengo, 2016. "Polarization and the growth of low-skill employment in Spanish Local Labor Markets," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 1628, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised Nov 2016.
    21. Lionel Nesta & Elena Verdolini & Francesco Vona, 2018. "Threshold Policy Effects and Directed Technical Change in Energy Innovation," GREDEG Working Papers 2018-01, Groupe de REcherche en Droit, Economie, Gestion (GREDEG CNRS), University of Nice Sophia Antipolis.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Green employment; Local labor markets; Environmental regulation; Environmental technologies; Local multipliers;
    All these keywords.

    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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