The impact of human capital on green economic efficiency: evidence from 280 prefectural cities in China

Balancing economic growth with resources and the environment to achieve sustainable development is a key issue in the development of all countries, and researchers are trying to find feasible development paths. The aim of this study is to examine the impact of human capital levels on green economic efficiency (GEE) and the underlying mechanisms in 280 prefecture-level cities in China and covering the 2003–2019 period. In addition, we calculate GEE including undesired outputs based on a super-efficiency slack-based measure (SBM) model, and we construct panel regression and moderating effect models for empirical studies. The results of the baseline regression study show that the improvement in the human capital level contributes to the GEE of prefecture-level cities. Among the control variables, the economic development level, foreign direct investment (FDI), city size, and the science and technology innovation (STI) level positively affect GEE, while industrialization and environmental regulation negatively affect GEE. The study results concerning the mechanism of action indicate that industrial structure upgrading plays a positive moderating role. That is, industrial structure upgrading can strengthen the effect of human capital on GEE, which is further clarified. This study suggests that government policies must favor the cultivation of high-level human capital, especially in the environmental protection industry, and that talent support strategies should be differentiated between regions to promote industrial structure upgrading and human capital matching through green technology development. Modern human capital theory reveals the important role of human capital in improving economic efficiency and provides new ideas for achieving sustainable development. This paper explores the role of human capital in improving the GEE based on the human capital perspective, which is important for research on the pathways to achieve sustainable development.