Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/301286 
Year of Publication: 
2024
Series/Report no.: 
CESifo Working Paper No. 11160
Publisher: 
CESifo GmbH, Munich
Abstract: 
We investigate differences in labor demand between German automotive firms specializing in green propulsion technology and those with a focus on combustion engines. To this end, we introduce a firm-level labor demand index based on the near-universe of online job postings and firms’ patent portfolios. Workforce adjustments are a crucial dimension of technology-related structural change, and labor demand as a highly reactive decision parameter is an ideal measure to detect employment adjustments. Our index enables us to distinguish labor demand by firms’ greenness in real-time, a notable advantage over survey or administrative data. In a difference-in-differences setup, we exploit the poly-crisis triggered by unexpected escalations of trade conflicts and sustained by consequences of the pandemic and the war in Ukraine. We find green firms’ labor demand is significantly and persistently higher than before the outbreak of the poly-crisis, by 34 to 50 percentage points compared to firms with a focus on combustion technology. This gap widens over time and is not driven by unobserved firm heterogeneity. Green firms systematically adjust labor demand towards production and information technology jobs.
Subjects: 
low carbon technology
firm employment decisions
sustainability
disruptive innovation
JEL: 
C55
J23
M51
O14
O33
Document Type: 
Working Paper
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