IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/uto/labeco/202305.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Heterogeneity of Green Expenditure, Firms’ Performances and Wages: Italian Evidence on Circular Economy, Resource-saving and Energy Efficiency Investments

Author

Listed:

Abstract

This paper analyses the relationship between firms’ investment in green technologies and competitive performance. At this aim, we take advantage of new data on the adoption of different green technologies (circular economy, technical advancements, energy savings, efficiency gains) from a large representative sample of Italian firms. We find the following results. First, overall green investment increases the sales per employee and average wages. Second, we show a significant heterogeneity in the estimated effect across different green technologies. These results are robust to an econometric strategy that controls for a large set of observed characteristics, time-invariant unobserved heterogeneity and endogeneity issues. In sum, our results support the hypothesis that the ongoing ecological transformation of productive processes may favor firms’ competitiveness but substantial heterogeneity still matters. The policy implications are then discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Quatraro, Francesco & Ricci, Andrea, 2023. "Heterogeneity of Green Expenditure, Firms’ Performances and Wages: Italian Evidence on Circular Economy, Resource-saving and Energy Efficiency Investments," Department of Economics and Statistics Cognetti de Martiis LEI & BRICK - Laboratory of Economics of Innovation "Franco Momigliano", Bureau of Research in Innovation, Complexity and Knowledge, Collegio 202305, University of Turin.
    • Handle: RePEc:uto:labeco:202305
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.est.unito.it/do/home.pl/Download?doc=/allegati/wp2023dip/wp_21_2023.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Cecere, Grazia & Mazzanti, Massimiliano, 2017. "Green jobs and eco-innovations in European SMEs," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 86-98.
    2. Unruh, Gregory C., 2002. "Escaping carbon lock-in," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 30(4), pages 317-325, March.
    3. John Van Reenen, 1996. "The Creation and Capture of Rents: Wages and Innovation in a Panel of U. K. Companies," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 111(1), pages 195-226.
    4. Triguero, Angela & Moreno-Mondéjar, Lourdes & Davia, María A., 2013. "Drivers of different types of eco-innovation in European SMEs," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 25-33.
    5. Nick Johnstone & Ivan Haščič & Julie Poirier & Marion Hemar & Christian Michel, 2012. "Environmental policy stringency and technological innovation: evidence from survey data and patent counts," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(17), pages 2157-2170, June.
    6. Philippe Aghion & Ufuk Akcigit & Antonin Bergeaud & Richard Blundell & David Hemous, 2019. "Innovation and Top Income Inequality," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 86(1), pages 1-45.
    7. Marin, Giovanni, 2014. "Do eco-innovations harm productivity growth through crowding out? Results of an extended CDM model for Italy," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(2), pages 301-317.
    8. Mariacristina Piva & Marco Vivarelli, 2018. "Technological change and employment: is Europe ready for the challenge?," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 8(1), pages 13-32, March.
    9. Rennings, Klaus, 2000. "Redefining innovation -- eco-innovation research and the contribution from ecological economics," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(2), pages 319-332, February.
    10. David Card & Ana Rute Cardoso & Joerg Heining & Patrick Kline, 2018. "Firms and Labor Market Inequality: Evidence and Some Theory," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 36(S1), pages 13-70.
    11. Giovanni Marin & Alberto Marzucchi & Roberto Zoboli, 2015. "SMEs and barriers to Eco-innovation in the EU: exploring different firm profiles," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 25(3), pages 671-705, July.
    12. Unruh, Gregory C., 2000. "Understanding carbon lock-in," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 28(12), pages 817-830, October.
    13. Jens Horbach & Christian Rammer, 2020. "Circular economy innovations, growth and employment at the firm level: Empirical evidence from Germany," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 24(3), pages 615-625, June.
    14. Kunapatarawong, Rasi & Martínez-Ros, Ester, 2016. "Towards green growth: How does green innovation affect employment?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(6), pages 1218-1232.
    15. Sascha Rexhäuser & Christian Rammer, 2014. "Environmental Innovations and Firm Profitability: Unmasking the Porter Hypothesis," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 57(1), pages 145-167, January.
    16. Sandro Montresor & Francesco Quatraro, 2020. "Green technologies and Smart Specialisation Strategies: a European patent-based analysis of the intertwining of technological relatedness and key enabling technologies," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 54(10), pages 1354-1365, October.
    17. Dianshuang Wang & Hongyun Huang & Xin Zhao & Fang Fang, 2023. "Green technological progress, agricultural modernization, and wage inequality: Lessons from China," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(3), pages 1673-1698, August.
    18. 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.
    19. Ghisetti, Claudia & Quatraro, Francesco, 2013. "Beyond inducement in climate change: Does environmental performance spur environmental technologies? A regional analysis of cross-sectoral differences," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 99-113.
    20. Daron Acemoglu, 2002. "Technical Change, Inequality, and the Labor Market," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 40(1), pages 7-72, March.
    21. Nick Johnstone & Julien Labonne, 2007. "Environmental policy, management and R&D," OECD Economic Studies, OECD Publishing, vol. 2006(1), pages 169-203.
    22. William T. Dickens & Lawrence F. Katz, 1986. "Interindustry Wage Differences and Industry Characteristics," NBER Working Papers 2014, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    23. Nemet, Gregory F., 2009. "Demand-pull, technology-push, and government-led incentives for non-incremental technical change," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(5), pages 700-709, June.
    24. René Kemp, 2010. "Eco-innovation: Definition, Measurement and Open Research Issues," Economia politica, Società editrice il Mulino, issue 3, pages 397-420.
    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. Alessandra Colombelli & Jackie Krafft & Francesco Quatraro, 2021. "Firms’ growth, green gazelles and eco-innovation: evidence from a sample of European firms," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 56(4), pages 1721-1738, April.
    2. Ghisetti, Claudia & Marzucchi, Alberto & Montresor, Sandro, 2015. "The open eco-innovation mode. An empirical investigation of eleven European countries," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(5), pages 1080-1093.
    3. Ghisetti, Claudia & Pontoni, Federico, 2015. "Investigating policy and R&D effects on environmental innovation: A meta-analysis," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 57-66.
    4. Quatraro, Francesco & Scandura, Alessandra, 2019. "Academic Inventors and the Antecedents of Green Technologies. A Regional Analysis of Italian Patent Data," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 156(C), pages 247-263.
    5. Cirera, Xavier & Martins-Neto, Antonio Soares, 2023. "Do innovative firms pay higher wages? Micro-level evidence from Brazil," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(1).
    6. Jana Hojnik, 2017. "In Pursuit of Eco-innovation," UPP Monograph Series, University of Primorska Press, number 978-961-7023-53-4.
    7. Sebastian Losacker & Hendrik Hansmeier & Jens Horbach & Ingo Liefner, 2023. "The geography of environmental innovation: a critical review and agenda for future research," Review of Regional Research: Jahrbuch für Regionalwissenschaft, Springer;Gesellschaft für Regionalforschung (GfR), vol. 43(2), pages 291-316, August.
    8. Cecere, Grazia & Mazzanti, Massimiliano, 2017. "Green jobs and eco-innovations in European SMEs," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 86-98.
    9. F. Fusillo & F. Quatraro & S. Usai, 2019. "Going Green: Environmental Regulation, eco-innovation and technological alliances," Working Paper CRENoS 201907, Centre for North South Economic Research, University of Cagliari and Sassari, Sardinia.
    10. Costantini, Valeria & Crespi, Francesco & Martini, Chiara & Pennacchio, Luca, 2015. "Demand-pull and technology-push public support for eco-innovation: The case of the biofuels sector," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(3), pages 577-595.
    11. Aldieri, Luigi & Bruno, Bruna & Makkonen, Teemu & Vinci, Concetto Paolo, 2023. "Environmental innovations, geographically mediated knowledge spillovers, economic and environmental performance," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    12. 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.
    13. Antonioli, Davide & Ghisetti, Claudia & Mazzanti, Massimiliano & Nicolli, Francesco, 2022. "The economic returns of circular economy practices," FEEM Working Papers 319761, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM).
    14. Davide Antonioli & Grazia Cecere & Massimiliano Mazzanti, 2018. "Information communication technologies and environmental innovations in firms: joint adoptions and productivity effects," Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 61(11), pages 1905-1933, September.
    15. Sanni, Maruf, 2018. "Drivers of eco-innovation in the manufacturing sector of Nigeria," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 303-314.
    16. Befort, N., 2021. "The promises of drop-in vs. functional innovations: The case of bioplastics," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 181(C).
    17. Valeria Costantini & Francesco Crespi & Alessandro Palma, 2015. "Characterizing the policy mix and its impact on eco-innovation in energy-efficient technologies," SEEDS Working Papers 1115, SEEDS, Sustainability Environmental Economics and Dynamics Studies, revised Jun 2015.
    18. Orsatti, Gianluca & Quatraro, Francesco & Pezzoni, Michele, 2020. "The antecedents of green technologies: The role of team-level recombinant capabilities," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(3).
    19. Hoppmann, Joern & Peters, Michael & Schneider, Malte & Hoffmann, Volker H., 2013. "The two faces of market support—How deployment policies affect technological exploration and exploitation in the solar photovoltaic industry," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 42(4), pages 989-1003.
    20. Ghisetti,Claudia & Marzucchi,Alberto & Montresor,Sandro, 2013. "Does external knowledge affect environmental innovations? An empirical investigation of eleven European countries," INGENIO (CSIC-UPV) Working Paper Series 201301, INGENIO (CSIC-UPV), revised 23 May 2013.

    More about this item

    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:uto:labeco:202305. 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: Piero Cavaleri or Marina Grazioli (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/leifrit.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.