Can technological talent agglomeration improve carbon emission efficiency? Evidence from China

The agglomeration of technological talents is important for achieving carbon peaking and carbon neutrality. This paper analyzes the logical relationship between technological talent agglomeration and carbon emission efficiency. Following this, an empirical test with Chinese provincial panel data is conducted. The study concludes that: (1) The agglomeration of technological talents can improve carbon emission efficiency. This is shown by the fact that for every 1 unit increase in the level of scientific and technological talent agglomeration, China’s carbon emission efficiency will increase by 0.0391 units. This conclusion is still valid after alleviating endogenous problems. (2) At present, development research in China is not yet able to improve carbon emission efficiency, and only basic and applied research can significantly improve carbon emission efficiency. Educational heterogeneity shows that undergraduate agglomeration has no significant effect on improving carbon efficiency. The agglomeration of people with master’s and doctoral degrees can significantly improve carbon emission efficiency. Indeed, the higher the education level, the stronger this promotion effect is. (3) In addition to the direct effect, the mechanism test also concluded that the technological talent agglomeration mainly improves carbon emission efficiency by promoting green technology innovation and optimizing industrial structure.