ADR UK research fellowships 2022

The climate crisis and environmental emergency is potentially the greatest challenge faced by the international community. In response to this challenge, the UK government has set ambitious plans to transform their economy to be a net zero economy by 2050. Green jobs will be at the core of this transition (BEIS, 2020), but for government to put policies in place to support such a fundamental transition and benefit from this historic opportunity, they require a robust and reliable evidence base (Skidmore, 2023).

As there is currently no international consensus as how to define and measure a green job, creating a reliable evidence base is proving somewhat of a challenge. This lack of clarity has limited the breadth and depth of research in this area, while making it more challenging to compare the results of the distinct studies that have examined green jobs. In the UK, these issues have further been compounded due to the lack of large scale, longitudinal and reliable data on which to base such studies.

The release of the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings linked to Census 2011 (ASHE/C_2011) dataset provides the opportunity to make considerable progress in this area. This dataset was created as part of the Wage and Employment Dynamics project (www.wagedynamics.com) which was funded by Administrative Data Research UK (ADR UK). The dataset is available for all government and academic accredited researchers to use via the ONS' Secure Research Service following a successful project application. (https://www.ons.gov.uk/aboutus/whatwedo/statistics/requestingstatistics/secureresearchservice).

This study uses ASHE/C_2011 to provide insight into the definition and measurement of green jobs by providing evidence from three perspectives - top-down (industry), bottom-up (organisation and occupation) and a combination of the two. Policy makers will also benefit from this study, as it will provide a deeper understanding of the characteristics of green jobs and green employment. Given the longitudinal nature of the dataset, the study will explore cause and effect of workers as they transition through green jobs and while working for green employers.

Overall, the key aims of the project are to explore the characteristics of green jobs and green employment (e.g., explore whether individuals working in green jobs have similar or different work patterns than counterparts working in other sectors). It will also examine the payment structure of green jobs and how this compares to the earnings structures of other sectors. This study will also investigate whether there is a pay premium for those working in a green job and how green job outcomes differ across groups - including gender, ethnicity, disability, and by location. A further aim will be to understand employee transitions through green jobs and green employers. By doing so, the study will be able to evaluate whether working in green jobs provides better or worse prospects for movements in and out of employment and in terms of pay progression.

The main research questions that the project will answer are:
- What constitutes a green job and how should it be measured in different contexts?
- What is the extent of green jobs and green job growth in England and Wales and how has macroeconomic shocks (e.g. recessions) and environmental policies affected this?
- What are the characteristics of those working in green jobs in England and Wales, and do they vary by type of green job (e.g., green enhanced skills; green new and emerging; and green increased demand)?
- Is there a pay premium or pay penalty for working in a green job in England Wales, and does this outcome differ across demographic groups, such as gender, ethnic group, disability, and across regions?
- How do the early labour market experiences of green job employment affect an individual's subsequent labour market experience and wage progression?