Has investment in wind energy impacted local labor markets in Portugal?
March 1, 2021
Investment in wind power has grown remarkably in the past decades in Portugal (see figure). Although economic development is an argument for investment incentive policies, little evidence exists as to their net impact on local-level unemployment. Despite project-level estimates of direct employment creation, doubts remain as to whether these effects translate into an increase in overall employment - rather than a displacement of resources - as well as into effects at the local-level rather than at the aggregate level only.