CERE Working Papers,
CERE - the Center for Environmental and Resource Economics

Abstract: The aim of this paper was to investigate whether the environment and employment compete with each other in Swedish manufacturing industry. The effect of a marginal increase in environmental expenditure and environmental investment costs on sector-level demand for labor (employment) was studied using a detailed firm-level panel dataset for the period 2001–2008. The results showed that the sign and magnitude of the net employment effects ultimately depend on the aggregate sector-level output demand elasticity. If the output demand is inelastic, these costs induce small net improvements in employment, while a more elastic output demand suggests negative, but in most sectors relatively small, net effects on demand for labor. Hence, the results did not generally indicate a substantial trade-off between jobs and the environment. The general policy recommendation that can be drawn from this study is that, in the absence of empirically estimated output demand elasticities, a careful attitude regarding national environmental initiatives for sectors exposed to world market competition should be adopted.

Keywords: Environmental management costs; Output demand elasticity

JEL-codes: C33; D22; J23; K32

30 pages, First version: June 26, 2020. Revised: November 4, 2020.

Full text files

papers.cfm?abstract_id=3636135  Full text

Download statistics

• CERE - the Center for Environmental and Resource Economics
• Home page for this series

Questions (including download problems) about the papers in this series should be directed to Mona Bonta Bergman ()
Report other problems with accessing this service to Sune Karlsson ().

RePEc:hhs:slucer:2020_013This page generated on 2024-09-13 22:17:07.