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The impact of twin transition on income inequality and employment quality

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: This report examines how Europe’s “twin transition” relates to income inequality and employment quality. Inequality levels are persistent and heterogeneous across countries, with limited convergence over time. Digital employment expands broadly yet unevenly, while green employment displays mixed trajectories; twin jobs remain a small and slowly growing share. At the national level, green employment is relatively more prevalent in higher-inequality economies whereas digital employment is more common in more egalitarian settings; the association for twin jobs is weak. Regional and worker-level evidence highlights pronounced distributional asymmetries: women are over-represented in lower income deciles, younger workers are concentrated toward the bottom, temporary contracts map to lower deciles, and work-from-home opportunities skew to the top. Digital and twin occupations are disproportionately represented in upper deciles, while green roles are more evenly distributed. We conclude that the twin transition is not distributionally neutral. Targeted policies are required to ensure transitions that are both effective and inclusive.

Source: Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)

DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17630636

Authors: Andrea, Ascani, Barbieri, Nicolò, Basilico, Stefano, Dimarco, Giacomo, Marzucchi, Alberto, Rizzo, Ugo

Institutions: Gran Sasso Science Institute, University of Ferrara

Language: English

Topic: Labor market dynamics and wage inequality

Subfield: Economics and Econometrics

Field: Economics, Econometrics and Finance

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Decent work and economic growth, Reduced inequalities, No poverty, Gender equality

Open Access status: green

Funder: European Commission