Study on the Influence of Low-Carbon Economy on Employment Skill Structure—Evidence from 30 Provincial Regions in China

Lulu Qin and Lanhui Wang ()
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Lulu Qin: School of Economics and Management, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
Lanhui Wang: School of Economics and Management, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 17, 1-27

Abstract: In confronting escalating economic uncertainty, achieving a win–win situation for low-carbon transition and improved employment structure will contribute to economic recovery and sustainable growth but also contribute to building a community with a shared future for mankind. A critical issue for China’s economy and societal welfare, as well as a core component of sustainable development, concerns whether low-carbon economic transition influences employment skill structure. This study utilizes data from 30 provinces (municipalities and autonomous regions) in China from 2006 to 2021. Employing the entropy method, a low-carbon economic development level indicator system was constructed from four aspects: low-carbon output, low-carbon consumption, low-carbon resources, and low-carbon environment to measure the low-carbon economy and explore its direct and indirect effects on employment skill structure and spatial effects. The research findings indicate that low-carbon economies not only directly and significantly promote employment skill structure optimization but also indirectly generate promotional effects through pathways such as industrial structure adjustment, green innovation’s innovative effects, and factor substitution effects of increased pollution control investment. Among these, the indirect impact of industrial structure adjustment contributes most substantially. Low-carbon economies’ influence on employment skill structures exhibits spatial spillover effects, with neighboring regions’ low-carbon economies exerting positive spillover effects on local skill structures. Additionally, significant negative interdependence exists among regional employment skill structures. Based on the aforementioned research conclusions, the following recommendations are proposed: accelerate low-carbon economy development and employment skill structure enhancement in central and western regions to diminish regional disparities; encourage green innovation and promote traditional industry upgrading and transformation; formulate regional coordinated development plans, thereby strengthening the low-carbon economy’s optimizing role upon employment skills structure; and increase educational investment and strengthen labor skill training.

Keywords: low-carbon economy; sustainable development; employment skill structure; direct influence; indirect influence (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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