Green Jobs and Regional Economic Transition: A Spatial Analysis of Provincial Inequality in Green Employment Opportunities in Indonesia

Authors

  • Fajar Nugroho Universitas Cakrawala Indonesia Author
  • Intan Permata Sari Universitas Mandala Ekonomi Author
  • Rendy Kurniawan Universitas Borneo Sejahtera Author

Keywords:

Green employment opportunities, Spatial inequality, Just transition, Renewable energy, Regional development, Indonesia

Abstract

Purpose - This study examined provincial inequality and spatial dependence in green employment opportunities during Indonesia's regional economic transition.
Methodology - An illustrative quantitative analysis used a balanced panel of 34 spatially consistent provinces from 2019 to 2024. Inequality indicators, Global Moran's I, local spatial association, and a fixed-effects Spatial Durbin Model were applied.
Findings - The simulated estimates indicated that the mean green employment rate increased from 6.72% to 9.21%, while the Gini index declined from 0.218 to 0.193. Spatial clustering strengthened, with Moran's I reaching 0.394 in 2024 and the spatial coefficient reaching 0.347. Human capital, green public investment, renewable energy, diversification, infrastructure, and urbanization showed positive effects, whereas fossil-fuel dependence showed a negative effect.
Implications - Green employment policy should combine provincial capability building with interprovincial coordination, especially in low-performing and fossil-dependent regions.
Originality - The study integrates green-job measurement, spatial justice, regional inequality, and spatial panel effects at the Indonesian provincial level.

References

Aldieri, L., Grafström, J., & Vinci, C. P. (2021). The effect of Marshallian and Jacobian knowledge spillovers on jobs in the solar, wind and energy efficiency sector. Energies, 14(14), 4269. https://doi.org/10.3390/en14144269

Andrews, D., & de Serres, A. (2023). Doing green things: Skills, reallocation, and the green transition (OECD Economics Department Working Papers No. 1763). OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/286a5007-en

Apostel, A., & Barslund, M. (2024). Measuring and characterising green jobs: A literature review. Energy Research & Social Science, 111, 103477. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2024.103477

Asyrof, R. A., & Rizaldi, M. (2025). Regional inclusive green growth in Indonesia: Unraveling determinants and disparities. Indonesian Journal of Energy, 8(1), 75-86. https://doi.org/10.33116/ije.v8i1.220

Azretbergenova, G., Syzdykov, B., Niyazov, T., Gulzhan, T., & Yskak, N. (2021). The relationship between renewable energy production and employment in European Union countries: Panel data analysis. International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, 11(3), 20-26. https://doi.org/10.32479/ijeep.10744

Bimo, I. D., & Sulistyaningsih, E. (2024). Greening the workforce: A systematic literature review of determinants in green HRM. Cogent Business & Management, 11(1), 2429793. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2024.2429793

Chen, H., Jang, S.-G., Zhang, Y., & Liu, Y. (2024). Clean energy for all? Mapping inequity potential in the clean energy transition in the United States. Energy Research & Social Science, 108, 103400. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2023.103400

Dakhi, H., Hukom, A., & Ompusunggu, D. P. (2025). Green economy: Opportunities and challenges for the renewable energy sector in Indonesia. Jurnal Inovasi Ekonomi, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.22219/jiko.v10i01.40224

Fonseca, L. M. M. (2022). Building a fair and fast energy transition? Renewable energy employment, skill shortages and social licence in regional areas. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Transition, 2, 100039. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rset.2022.100039

Garvey, A., Norman, J. B., Büchs, M., & Barrett, J. (2022). A spatially just transition? A critical review of regional equity in decarbonisation pathways. Energy Research & Social Science, 88, 102630. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2022.102630

Huang, J., & Chen, J. (2023). Spatial spillover and impacting factors of green development: A study based on China's provincial data. PLOS ONE, 18(3), e0282865. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0282865

Jakobsen, S.-E., Uyarra, E., Njøs, R., & Fløysand, A. (2022). Policy action for green restructuring in specialized industrial regions. European Urban and Regional Studies, 29(3), 312-331. https://doi.org/10.1177/09697764211049116

Kozar, Ł. J., & Sulich, A. (2023a). Green jobs: Bibliometric review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(4), 2886. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20042886

Kozar, Ł. J., & Sulich, A. (2023b). Green jobs in the energy sector. Energies, 16(7), 3171. https://doi.org/10.3390/en16073171

Krawchenko, T. A., & Gordon, M. (2022). Just transitions for oil and gas regions and the role of regional development policies. Energies, 15(13), 4834. https://doi.org/10.3390/en15134834

Li, G., Li, X., & Huo, L. (2023). Digital economy, spatial spillover and industrial green innovation efficiency: Empirical evidence from China. Heliyon, 9(1), e12875. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e12875

Lim, J., Aklin, M., & Frank, M. R. (2023). Location is a major barrier for transferring US fossil fuel employment to green jobs. Nature Communications, 14, 5711. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-41133-9

Maczulskij, T. (2024). How are green jobs created? A decomposition analysis. Economics Letters, 244, 111950. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econlet.2024.111950

Mariska. (2024). Optimalisasi peluang green jobs melalui penyiapan tenaga kerja hijau. Bappenas Working Papers, 7(3), 227-242. https://doi.org/10.47266/bwp.v7i3.365

Mathieu, A. (2024). Foundations and conditions of green jobs in developing economies: Systematic literature review and bibliometric analysis. Development and Sustainability in Economics and Finance, 2-4, 100016. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsef.2024.100016

McDowall, W., Reinauer, T., Fragkos, P., Miedzinski, M., & Cronin, J. (2023). Mapping regional vulnerability in Europe's energy transition: Development and application of an indicator to assess declining employment in four carbon-intensive industries. Climatic Change, 176, Article 7. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-022-03478-w

Moreno, R., & Ocampo-Corrales, D. (2022). The ability of European regions to diversify in renewable energies: The role of technological relatedness. Research Policy, 51(5), 104508. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2022.104508

Mursalin, D., & Irawan, T. (2025). Balancing regional growth, equity, and spatial: The dilemma of decentralization in Indonesia's development. Jurnal Ekonomi dan Kebijakan Pembangunan, 14(1), 58-82. https://doi.org/10.29244/jekp.14.1.2025.58-82

Nasri, M. A., & Keindahan, B. K. A. (2024). Tinjauan regulasi dan kebijakan dalam pengembangan green jobs di Indonesia. Jurnal Ilmu Kesejahteraan Sosial, 25(2), Article 4. https://doi.org/10.7454/jurnalkessos.v25i2.1054

Nurhidayah, L., Alam, S., Utomo, N. A., & Suntoro, A. (2024). Indonesia's just energy transition: The societal implications of policy and legislation on renewable energy. Climate Law, 14(1), 36-66. https://doi.org/10.1163/18786561-bja10047

Pratomo, D. S., Ningsih, D. N. C., Fahadayna, A. C., Arisetyawan, K., Al Ayyubi, M. S., Natalia, C., Asrofi, D. A. N., & Prastiwi, L. F. (2024). Analyzing the factors influencing green job participation and income effects using national labor force data. Journal of Human, Earth, and Future, 5(3), 513-527. https://doi.org/10.28991/HEF-2024-05-03-014

Rainnie, A., & Snell, D. (2023). Renewable energy and the promise of jobs, regional regeneration and First Nations opportunities. Labour & Industry, 33(4), 403-421. https://doi.org/10.1080/10301763.2023.2289097

Rakhimzhanova, G., Maidyrova, A., & Kocherbaeva, A. (2023). Human capital management based on the principles of green economy and the creation of green jobs for sustainable territorial development. Journal of Environmental Management and Tourism, 14(5), 2319-2327. https://doi.org/10.14505/jemt.v14.5(69).13

Ramadanti, V. (2023). The effect of regional government expenditures on regional development inequality in Eastern Indonesia, 2015-2020. Jambura Equilibrium Journal, 5(1). https://doi.org/10.37479/jej.v5i1.16949

Santoalha, A., & Boschma, R. (2021). Diversifying in green technologies in European regions: Does political support matter? Regional Studies, 55(2), 182-195. https://doi.org/10.1080/00343404.2020.1744122

Santoalha, A., Consoli, D., & Castellacci, F. (2021). Digital skills, relatedness and green diversification: A study of European regions. Research Policy, 50(9), 104340. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2021.104340

Saputri, D. T., & Pratama, A. A. (2021). Spatial panel data approach on environmental quality in Indonesia. Proceedings of the International Conference on Data Science and Official Statistics, 2021(1), 471-481. https://doi.org/10.34123/icdsos.v2021i1.135

Sharpe, S. A., & Martinez-Fernandez, C. M. (2021). The implications of green employment: Making a just transition in ASEAN. Sustainability, 13(13), 7389. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13137389

Sharma, A., & Banerjee, R. (2021). Framework to analyze the spatial distribution of the labor impacts of clean energy transitions. Energy Policy, 150, 112158. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2021.112158

Song, K., Kim, H., Cha, J., & Lee, T. (2021). Matching and mismatching of green jobs: A big data analysis of job recruiting and searching. Sustainability, 13(7), 4074. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13074074

Stanef-Puică, M.-R., Badea, L., Șerban-Oprescu, G.-L., Șerban-Oprescu, A.-T., Frâncu, L.-G., & Crețu, A. (2022). Green jobs: A literature review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(13), 7998. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19137998

Yunitasari, D., Fauzan, A., & Prianto, F. W. (2023). Reducing regional disparity in Java: A spatial econometrics approach. Jurnal Ekonomi Pembangunan: Kajian Masalah Ekonomi dan Pembangunan, 24(1), 129-140. https://doi.org/10.23917/jep.v24i1.18532

Downloads

Published

2026-02-28