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The green potential of occupations in Switzerland

Author

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  • Michael Lobsiger

    (BSS Economic Consultants)

  • Christian Rutzer

    (University of Basel)

Abstract

We use a data-driven methodology to quantify the importance of different skills in performing green tasks, aiming to estimate the green potential of occupations in Switzerland. By this we mean the potential of an occupation to be able to perform green tasks on the basis of the skills attributed to it, whereby it is irrelevant whether the occupation already bundles green tasks or not. The results show that occupations with a high green potential are predominantly those with an engineering and technical background. In order to substantiate our green potential measure, we provide evidence of a positive association between demand of employment in occupations with high green potential and an increase in the implicit tax rate on greenhouse gas emissions. The share of employment in occupations with a green potential above a reasonable threshold in the total Swiss labour force is 16.7% (number of persons employed) and 18.8% (full-time equivalents). These employed persons are, on average, younger, more often men, have a higher level of educational attainment and a higher probability of having immigrated than employed persons in occupations with low green potential.

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:sjecst:v:157:y:2021:i:1:d:10.1186_s41937-021-00076-y
    DOI: 10.1186/s41937-021-00076-y
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Julia Bock-Schappelwein & Andrea Egger, 2023. "Arbeitsmarkt 2030. Rückschlüsse für Österreich," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 71172.
    2. Patrick Lehnert & Harald Pfeifer, 2024. "Environmental Awareness and Occupational Choices of Adolescents," Economics of Education Working Paper Series 0231, University of Zurich, Department of Business Administration (IBW).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Green potential; Green transition; Labour market;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • Q52 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Pollution Control Adoption and Costs; Distributional Effects; Employment Effects

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