The impact of innovation activities on employment in the environmental sector

The paper explores employment effects of environmental product innovations at the firm level. The empirical analysis is based on the establishment panel of the Institute for Employment Research (Nuremberg). A descriptive analysis shows that more than 50% of the firms in the environmental sector developed new products or improved existing products or services. The most dynamic environmental fields were analytics, consulting, measurement technology, waste disposal and recycling. A firm specialised in environmental research and development seems to have the best employment perspectives in the short and in the long run. Our econometric analysis had to address a simultaneity problem because the decision of a firm on the realisation of innovations and on the enlargement or reduction of employment is mutually dependant. Therefore, we apply a bivariate probit model that allows estimating the two variables simultaneously. The econometric results show that the influence of environmental innovation activities on the employment development is significantly positive. Furthermore, the quantitative importance of the new products with regard to the whole turnover of the firm is also important for employment growth. Within the bivariate probit model, the determinants of environmental innovation activities are also explored. They may be interpreted as indirect influences on the employment development of the firm. The results show that the improvement of the innovative capacities by R&D and further education measures and the existence of a high qualified human capital are significantly important for the development of new products in the environmental sector. A good strategy to improve the innovativeness of a firm seems to be a diversification of environmental product lines offered by the firm.