Green Jobs in the EU Renewable Energy Sector: Quantile Regression Approach

Abstract

This article explores the ongoing green transition in the energy sector in EU countries. The greening process is brought about by the growth of the Renewable Energy Sources (RES) sector and Green Jobs (GJ). The goal of this paper is to find out how certain factors in the RES sector affect the creation of GJ. This study uses Quantile Regression for Panel Data (QRPD), a method that addresses fixed effects. Based on secondary data from Eurostat and EurObserv’ER reports, the model was made for the EU27 countries for the years 2013–2020. The impact of the adopted variables on GJ generation is heterogeneous. Significantly, the volume of turnover in the RES, across the entire studied cross-section, influences the increase in GJ number. It is also observed that, in the case of economy-wide R&D expenditure, a negative impact on GJ creation is observed. In contrast, interestingly, in the case of R&D expenditure in the business sector, a positive effect on GJ formation is noted. A possible direction for research into the topic of GJ in the RES should be qualitative research, which could provide additional information regarding, for example, the degree of the greening of such jobs.