Abstract
This paper examines the impact of human capital on corporate green innovation. We exploit an expanded professional master enrollment program in China that resulted in a surge in staff with professional master's degrees (SPM) and use a Difference-in-Differences (DID) approach to address the potential endogeneity. We find that green patents in firms belonging to human capital-dependent industries increase significantly after SPM enters the labor market. Environmental awareness and green investment are two plausible potential mechanisms. We further find this effect is more pronounced in firms with state-owned equity, and higher employee care. Our study highlights an important but unanticipated benefit arising from the accumulation of human capital.
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