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Are Green Jobs Real Jobs? The Case of Photovoltaic Power in Italy

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  • Luciano Lavecchia
  • Carlo Stagnaro

Abstract

The European Union has made the promotion of renewable energies a key objective of its energy, environmental, and industrial policies. The underlying assumption is that several benefits may be delivered: Preventing the perceived environmental externalities, insuring energy security through reduced import dependency of conventional energy sources, promoting innovation and creating new jobs. This paper addresses this latter issue. Unfortunately, a fair assessment of the net occupational impact of green subsidies is quite complex because, among other reasons, reliable data are lacking. We try to estimate whether subsidies to solar power in Italy actually created more jobs than they destroyed (or prevented the creation thereof) because of the negative macroeconomic effect of higher electricity prices.

Suggested Citation

  • Luciano Lavecchia & Carlo Stagnaro, 2014. "Are Green Jobs Real Jobs? The Case of Photovoltaic Power in Italy," Energy & Environment, , vol. 25(5), pages 953-970, July.
  • Handle: RePEc:sae:engenv:v:25:y:2014:i:5:p:953-970
    DOI: 10.1260/0958-305X.25.5.953
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Robert Pollin & Heidi Garrett-Peltier & James Heintz & Helen Scharber, 2008. "Green Recovery: A Program to Create Good Jobs & Start Building a Low-Carbon Economy," Published Studies peri_report, Political Economy Research Institute, University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
    2. Frondel, Manuel & Ritter, Nolan & Schmidt, Christoph M. & Vance, Colin, 2010. "Economic impacts from the promotion of renewable energy technologies: The German experience," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(8), pages 4048-4056, August.
    3. Blanco, Maria Isabel & Rodrigues, Glória, 2009. "Direct employment in the wind energy sector: An EU study," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(8), pages 2847-2857, August.
    4. Stagnaro, Carlo, 2012. "How solar subsidies can distort the power market: the case of Italy," MPRA Paper 44853, University Library of Munich, Germany.
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    Cited by:

    1. Michael Briguglio & Maria Brown, 2019. "Civil society perspectives on green jobs in sustainable energy: The case of European Malta," Energy & Environment, , vol. 30(5), pages 867-881, August.

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