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The skill requirements of the circular economy

Author

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  • Buyukyazici, Duygu
  • Quatraro, Francesco

Abstract

In response to global challenges related to resource scarcity and environmental concerns, the circular economy (CE) has emerged as a transformative model focused on resource efficiency and waste reduction. As the discourse around the CE intensifies, understanding the skill requirements of the CE becomes imperative for effective policy-making, workforce development, and regional competitiveness. This paper addresses the scarcity of quantitative methods on this aspect and proposes a conceptual and empirical framework to identify, analyse, and monitor the skill requirements of the CE through a comprehensive and reproducible approach based on relative skill advantage, skill relatedness, and skill complexity measures. Accordingly, it identifies the essential and complementary skills within the CE by constructing unique skill spaces and documents their regional variation.

Suggested Citation

  • Buyukyazici, Duygu & Quatraro, Francesco, 2025. "The skill requirements of the circular economy," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 232(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:232:y:2025:i:c:s0921800925000424
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2025.108559
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    Keywords

    Circular economy; Skills; Competencies; Relatedness; Complexity;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • Q01 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - General - - - Sustainable Development
    • Q50 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - General
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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