The hidden winners of renewable energy promotion

Abstract

"In light of Germany┐s transition approaches towards a sustainable energy system this paper examines differences of employment structure and wage differentials between renewable energy establishments and their sector peers. To do so, we have developed a novel data set by linking company-level information from the German Renewable Energy Federation with establishment-level data of the IAB Establishment History Panel. According to our descriptive evidence, there are significant differences in wages and in several other characteristics. Looking at the top-four renewable energy sectors, our estimates show that human capital and other establishment- level characteristics mostly explain the wage differential among manufacturers and energy providers. However, we find a persistent 'renewable energy wage premium' of more than ten percent in the construction installation activities and the architectural and engineering services. We interpret this premium as a positive indirect effect of the promotion of renewable energies for the benefit of employees in renewable energy establishments within these two sectors." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Cite article

Antoni, M., Janser, M. & Lehmer, F. (2014): The hidden winners of renewable energy promotion. Insights into sector-specific wage differentials. (IAB-Discussion Paper 12/2014), Nürnberg, 49 p.