The Social and Environmental Consequences of the Twin Energy-Digital Transition
We analyze the employment and environmental effects of US firms’ exposure to green and digital technologies between 2010 and 2023. Using establishment-level data on online job postings, we construct a new measure of technological adoption by linking job skill requirements to advances in green and digital patents. We address endogeneity concerns using a shift-share instrumental variables design based on technological progress outside the US, yielding four main findings. First, increases in green technology adoption lead to job creation, with an elasticity of employment to green exposure of 0.4-0.5, though this effect weakened from 2015. Second, the employment impact of green innovation varies across sectors – innovation in information technology and buildings complements labor, while advances in transportation and smart grids substitute for workers. Third, both green and digital innovations raise relative demand for high-skill workers. Fourth, we find no evidence of negative environmental impacts of digital technology at the firm level.
Date: 28 April 2025, 14:15
Venue: Manor Road Building, Manor Road OX1 3UQ
Venue Details: Seminar Room C
Speaker: Aurelien Saussay (London School of Economics)
Organising department: Department of Economics
Part of: Environment and Resource Economics Seminar
Booking required?: Not required
Audience: Members of the University only
Editor: Edward Clark