Job displacement costs of phasing out coal

Juan-Pablo Rud, Michael Simmons, Gerhard Toews and Fernando Aragon

Journal of Public Economics, 2024, vol. 236, issue C

Abstract: The reduction of carbon emissions will require a rapid phasing out of coal and the displacement of millions of coal miners. How much could this energy transition cost mining workers? We use the dramatic collapse of the UK coal industry to estimate the long-term impact on displaced miners. We find evidence of substantial losses: hourly wages fell by 40% and earnings fell by 80% to 90% one year after job loss. These losses are persistent and remain significantly depressed fifteen years later, amounting to present discounted value earnings losses of between four and six times the miners pre-displacement earnings.

Keywords: Displacement; Mining; Unemployment; Earnings (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J30 J63 J64 O4 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Related works:
Working Paper: Job Displacement Costs of Phasing out Coal (2022)
Working Paper: Job Displacement Costs of Phasing Out Coal (2022)
Working Paper: Job Displacement Costs of Phasing Out Coal (2022)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:pubeco:v:236:y:2024:i:c:s0047272724001038

DOI: 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2024.105167

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