Title: Employment effects of renewable energy deployment - a review

Authors: Ina Meyer; Mark W. Sommer

Addresses: Austrian Institute of Economic Research – WIFO, Arsenal, Objekt 20, 1030 Vienna, Austria ' Austrian Institute of Economic Research – WIFO, Arsenal, Objekt 20, 1030 Vienna, Austria

Abstract: The paper investigates a central hypothesis of the green economy concept which states that transitioning to a low-carbon economy is justified on an economic basis. We analyse this hypothesis by focusing on employment effects from renewable energy deployment, based on an evaluation of impact studies from peer-reviewed journals. The studies are categorised according to employment factors or model-based scenario assessments on employment effects from renewable policies. The applied methodologies and the type of employment effects - direct, indirect, induced, gross, net - are distinguished. Given the heterogeneity of assumptions, the results are hardly comparable, although we find that a majority of the investigated scenarios show positive net employment effects. The positive link between renewable energy deployment and job creation is, however, not straightforward, as different assumptions, system boundaries and modelled interactions such as the crowding out of alternative energy production or effects from prices, income and foreign trade, influence the results.

Keywords: renewable energy; employment effects; climate change mitigation; green economy; low-carbon economy; green economics; job creation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSD.2016.078274

International Journal of Sustainable Development, 2016 Vol.19 No.3, pp.217 - 245

Accepted: 30 Jun 2015
Published online: 14 Aug 2016 *

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