Does eco-innovation stimulate employment? The case of Spanish manufacturing firms

The demand for eco-products due to the exigency of friendly and environmental production could affect the employment of the firms. This paper tests whether product and process eco-innovations boost employment in Spain differentiating by the environmental goals (material and energy efficiency and environment responsiveness), by the level of qualification of the workers, and by the dirtiness of the industries. We apply a Green Harrison model, using the Technological Innovation Panel (PITEC) for Spain from 2008 to 2016. Results show a positive relationship between all types of product eco-innovations and employment, while the influence of process eco-innovations on employment depends on the environmental goals, the level of skills, and the industry. Specifically, distinguishing by industry there is a labour-saving effect in clean industries and a labour-friendly effect for low-skilled employment in dirty industries.