IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/iza/izadps/dp14028.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Eco-Innovation and Employment: A Task-Based Analysis

Author

Listed:
  • Elliott, Robert J. R.

    (University of Birmingham)

  • Kuai, Wenjing

    (University of Birmingham)

  • Maddison, David

    (University of Birmingham)

  • Ozgen, Ceren

    (University of Birmingham)

Abstract

This paper provides some of the first evidence of the relationship between eco-innovation and employment. Adopting a O*NET based task approach, in a study of the Dutch firms, we show that eco-innovation has no impact on overall employment. However, compared to non- eco-innovators there is an 18.2% increase in the number of green jobs (equivalent to 12 new green workers for the average firm). This means an average increase in the share of green workers of around 3.3%. Broadly speaking, the increase in the share of green jobs was driven by a reduction in non-green workers and a smaller but still significant increase in the number of green workers. We further show that subsidy-driven policies, rather than regulation-driven policies positively correlate with the number of green workers.

Suggested Citation

  • 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).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14028
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://docs.iza.org/dp14028.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. 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.
    2. 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.
    3. Lachenmaier, Stefan & Rottmann, Horst, 2011. "Effects of innovation on employment: A dynamic panel analysis," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 29(2), pages 210-220, March.
    4. Cecere, Grazia & Mazzanti, Massimiliano, 2017. "Green jobs and eco-innovations in European SMEs," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 86-98.
    5. Giulio Cainelli & Massimiliano Mazzanti & Roberto Zoboli, 2011. "Environmentally oriented innovative strategies and firm performance in services. Micro-evidence from Italy," International Review of Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 25(1), pages 61-85.
    6. 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.
    7. Poirier, Dale J. & Ruud, Paul A., 1981. "On the appropriateness of endogenous switching," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 16(2), pages 249-256, June.
    8. 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.
    9. Dachs, Bernhard & Peters, Bettina, 2014. "Innovation, employment growth, and foreign ownership of firms," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(1), pages 214-232.
    10. Wang, Can & Zhang, Weishi & Cai, Wenjia & Xie, Xi, 2013. "Employment impacts of CDM projects in China's power sector," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 481-491.
    11. Klaus Rennings & Thomas Zwick, 2002. "Employment Impact Of Cleaner Production On The Firm Level: Empirical Evidence From A Survey In Five European Countries," International Journal of Innovation Management (ijim), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 6(03), pages 319-342.
    12. Harrison, Rupert & Jaumandreu, Jordi & Mairesse, Jacques & Peters, Bettina, 2014. "Does innovation stimulate employment? A firm-level analysis using comparable micro-data from four European countries," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 29-43.
    13. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/1fkb59dcsg9alqqq6qv18jj5us is not listed on IDEAS
    14. Bogliacino, Francesco & Pianta, Mario, 2010. "Innovation and Employment: a Reinvestigation using Revised Pavitt classes," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(6), pages 799-809, July.
    15. Kunapatarawong, Rasi & Martínez-Ros, Ester, 2016. "Towards green growth: How does green innovation affect employment?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(6), pages 1218-1232.
    16. Georg Licht & Bettina Peters, 2013. "The Impact of Green Innovation on Employment Growth in Europe. WWWforEurope Working Paper No. 50," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 47094, January.
    17. Yi, Hongtao, 2013. "Clean energy policies and green jobs: An evaluation of green jobs in U.S. metropolitan areas," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 644-652.
    18. Klaus Rennings & Andreas Ziegler & Thomas Zwick, 2004. "The effect of environmental innovations on employment changes: an econometric analysis," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 13(6), pages 374-387, November.
    19. Jing‐Lin Duanmu & Maoliang Bu & Russell Pittman, 2018. "Does market competition dampen environmental performance? Evidence from China," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(11), pages 3006-3030, November.
    20. Bowen, Alex & Kuralbayeva, Karlygash & Tipoe, Eileen L., 2018. "Characterising green employment: The impacts of ‘greening’ on workforce composition," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 263-275.
    21. Luisa Gagliardi & Giovanni Marin & Caterina Miriello, 2014. "The Greener the Better: Job Creation and Environmentally- Friendly Technological Change," IEFE Working Papers 60, IEFE, Center for Research on Energy and Environmental Economics and Policy, Universita' Bocconi, Milano, Italy.
    22. Van Reenen, John, 1997. "Employment and Technological Innovation: Evidence from U.K. Manufacturing Firms," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 15(2), pages 255-284, April.
    23. Maria Savona & Rinaldo Evangelista, 2003. "The impact of innovation on employment and skills in services. Evidence from Italy," Post-Print halshs-00247420, HAL.
    24. Maddala,G. S., 1986. "Limited-Dependent and Qualitative Variables in Econometrics," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521338257, November.
    25. Elliott, Robert J.R. & Lindley, Joanne K., 2017. "Environmental Jobs and Growth in the United States," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 232-244.
    26. Michael Lokshin & Zurab Sajaia, 2004. "Maximum likelihood estimation of endogenous switching regression models," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 4(3), pages 282-289, September.
    27. James H. Stock & Motohiro Yogo, 2002. "Testing for Weak Instruments in Linear IV Regression," NBER Technical Working Papers 0284, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    28. Luisa Gagliardi & Giovanni Marin & Caterina Miriello, 2016. "The greener the better? Job creation effects of environmentally-friendly technological change," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 25(5), pages 779-807.
    29. 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.
    30. Cai, Wenjia & Wang, Can & Chen, Jining & Wang, Siqiang, 2011. "Green economy and green jobs: Myth or reality? The case of China’s power generation sector," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(10), pages 5994-6003.
    31. Glen W. S. Dowell & Suresh Muthulingam, 2017. "Will firms go green if it pays? The impact of disruption, cost, and external factors on the adoption of environmental initiatives," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(6), pages 1287-1304, June.
    32. David J. Peters, 2014. "Understanding Green Occupations from a Task-Based Approach," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 36(2), pages 238-264.
    33. Robert J. R. Elliott & Liza Jabbour & Enrico Vanino, 2020. "Innovation and the Creative Destruction of Trade: A Study of the Intensive and Extensive Margins of Trade for French Firms," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 82(1), pages 180-208, February.
    34. Evangelista, Rinaldo & Savona, Maria, 2003. "Innovation, employment and skills in services. Firm and sectoral evidence," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 14(4), pages 449-474, December.
    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. Elliott, Robert J.R. & Kuai, Wenjing & Maddison, David & Ozgen, Ceren, 2024. "Eco-innovation and (green) employment: A task-based approach to measuring the composition of work in firms," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).
    2. 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).
    3. 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].
    4. Federico Fabio Frattini & Francesco Vona & Filippo Bontadini, 2024. "Does Green Re-industrialization Pay off? Impacts on Employment, Wages and Productivity," Working Papers 2024.23, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei.
    5. repec:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/2vteelu0n785l82j764n6ul273 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Costantini, Valeria & Crespi, Francesco & Paglialunga, Elena, 2018. "The employment impact of private and public actions for energy efficiency: Evidence from European industries," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 250-267.
    7. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/2vteelu0n785l82j764n6ul273 is not listed on IDEAS
    8. Ángela Triguero & María C. Cuerva & Carlos Álvarez-Aledo, 2017. "Environmental Innovation and Employment: Drivers and Synergies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(11), pages 1-22, November.
    9. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/5ahh4t5kfl8nprei89ignlk5nl is not listed on IDEAS
    10. Gupta, Ashish, 2024. "Impact of innovation on employment: A review of literature," MPRA Paper 120383, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    11. Luigi Aldieri & Concetto Paolo Vinci, 2018. "Green Economy and Sustainable Development: The Economic Impact of Innovation on Employment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-11, October.
    12. repec:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/5ahh4t5kfl8nprei89ignlk5nl is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Cecere, Grazia & Mazzanti, Massimiliano, 2017. "Green jobs and eco-innovations in European SMEs," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 86-98.
    14. 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.
    15. Martin Falk & Eva Hagsten, 2018. "Employment impacts of market novelty sales: evidence for nine European Countries," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 8(2), pages 119-137, June.
    16. Daria Ciriaci & Pietro Moncada-Paternò-Castello & Peter Voigt, 2016. "Innovation and job creation: a sustainable relation?," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 6(2), pages 189-213, August.
    17. Bernhard Dachs & Martin Hud & Christian Koehler & Bettina Peters, 2017. "Innovation, creative destruction and structural change: firm-level evidence from European countries," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(4), pages 346-381, May.
    18. Georg Licht & Bettina Peters, 2014. "Do Green Innovations Stimulate Employment? Firm-level Evidence From Germany. WWWforEurope Working Paper No. 53," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 47155, January.
    19. Horbach, Jens & Rennings, Klaus, 2012. "Environmental innovation and employment dynamics in different technology fields: An analysis based on the German community innovation survey 2009," ZEW Discussion Papers 12-006, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    20. Grazia Cecere & Massimiliano Mazzanti, 2015. "Green jobs, innovation and environmentally oriented strategies in European SMEs," SEEDS Working Papers 2115, SEEDS, Sustainability Environmental Economics and Dynamics Studies, revised Dec 2015.
    21. Vincent Van Roy & Daniel Vertesy & Marco Vivarelli, 2015. "The Employment Impact of Innovation: Evidence from European Patenting Companies," DISCE - Quaderni del Dipartimento di Politica Economica ispe0075, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Dipartimenti e Istituti di Scienze Economiche (DISCE).
    22. Mariacristina Piva & Marco Vivarelli, 2017. "The employment impact of R&D expenditures and capital formation," DISCE - Quaderni del Dipartimento di Politica Economica ispe0078, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Dipartimenti e Istituti di Scienze Economiche (DISCE).
    23. Mariacristina Piva & Marco Vivarelli, 2018. "Is Innovation Destroying Jobs? Firm-Level Evidence from the EU," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-16, April.
    24. Luisa Gagliardi & Giovanni Marin & Caterina Miriello, 2014. "The Greener the Better: Job Creation and Environmentally- Friendly Technological Change," IEFE Working Papers 60, IEFE, Center for Research on Energy and Environmental Economics and Policy, Universita' Bocconi, Milano, Italy.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    eco-innovation; green jobs; subsidies;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q52 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Pollution Control Adoption and Costs; Distributional Effects; Employment Effects
    • Q55 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Technological Innovation
    • J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand

    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:iza:izadps:dp14028. 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: Holger Hinte (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/izaaade.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.