Labor Markets in Transition: Evidence from Green Jobs, Automation, and the Great Resignation

This thesis is structured into three distinct chapters, each addressing a different yet timely topic within labor economics, with a particular focus on Italy and Europe. 1) Measuring Green Jobs in Italy: a Task-Based Approach The first chapter deals with the measurement of Green Jobs (GJs), a concept that has gained growing policy relevance in the context of the green transition. However, the definition and measurement of Green Jobs are still challenging, with various alternatives available in the literature. In this paper, firstly, we review the existing literature on Green Jobs, examining the benefits and disadvantages of different measurement approaches. Then, we propose a new measure of Green Jobs for Italian occupations based on the Task-Based approach, combining textual analysis and machine learning techniques to validate our findings. Using the Italian Sample Survey on Professions (ICP), we identify 204 Green Tasks across 84 occupations and develop continuous and binary indicators to assess the degree of the greenness of each occupation. Finally, we attach this information to the Comunicazioni Obbligatorie dataset to perform statistical and multivariate analysis on trends and characteristics of Green Jobs in Italy, including their quality, location, sectoral distribution, routine tasks, gender, and age dynamics. 2) Robot Trade and Employment: Unraveling the Relationship within the European Context The second chapter deals with the effects that robot adoption in a country may generate in other trade-related countries. We concentrate on the Top five European economies as robot adopters over the period from 1995 to 2018 (Italy, Germany, France, Spain, UK) by testing whether robot adoption affects employment dynamics also beyond borders. To reach this goal we develop a composite indicator that captures both the penetration of industrial robots within these economies and the export reliance of other European nations on them. Our findings show a positive association between Top five robot adoption and several measures of employment outcomes in other European countries even though this result is mainly driven by low income countries. We thus infer empirically the prevalence of a productivity effect as opposed to a reshoring effect within the highly integrated European market. 3) The Italian Great Resignation: Just a Reallocation Trend? The third chapter investigates the phenomenon known as the ”Great Resignation” (GR), a surge in voluntary resignations first identified in the U.S. in 2021. While extensively studied in the U.S., the GR remains underexplored in the other countries. This work examines whether the GR in Italy primarily reflects labor force exits or job switching, identifying its key drivers. Using data from the Italian Labour Force Survey, we replicate observed resignation trends and conduct an econometric analysis incorporating job task characteristics. We extend our investigation with subsample analyses, decomposition techniques, and counterfactual wage assessments to evaluate the role played by monetary factors. Our findings indicate that Italy’s GR is mainly a reallocation phenomenon rather than a mass labor force withdrawal, with workers prioritizing flexibility, purpose, and wellbeing. These insights highlight the need for adaptive policies to adapt to these shifting dynamics by creating more flexible and fulfilling work environments.