Does the new energy transition in cities promote talent aggregation? Evidence from China's new energy demonstration city policy

Against the backdrop of the global energy system accelerating its transition toward green and low-carbon development, the new energy transition has not only become a strategic focal point for nations reshaping their competitive advantages but is also viewed as a key driver in restructuring regional development patterns and reallocating human capital. This study examines 233 prefecture-level cities in China from 2006 to 2022. Leveraging the quasi-natural experiment of China's New Energy Demonstration City Policy (NEDC policy), it constructs a standard Difference-in-Differences (DID) model to explore the impact of urban new energy transition on talent aggregation and its underlying mechanisms. The findings reveal that urban new energy transition promotes talent aggregation, with this conclusion remaining robust after parallel trend tests, propensity score matching, and placebo tests. Mechanism analysis indicates that urban new energy transition achieves talent aggregation by enhancing urban energy efficiency, level of economic development and level of social innovation. Further analysis indicates that the promotion effect is significant only in third-tier cities, cities in central and western regions, and non-resource-based cities. The strongest attraction is observed for talent in scientific research, technical services, and geological exploration. Grounded in complex ecosystem theory and push-pull theory, this study reveals the influence of new energy transition on talent aggregation across economic, social, and natural dimensions, expanding the application scope of this theory while offering policy recommendations for synergizing new energy transition with talent aggregation. • while previous studies have only explored the environmental and economic effects of the new energy transition, this paper by investigating the causal effects of new energy transitions on talent aggregation, it bridges two distinct research domains: “urban new energy transitions” and “talent aggregation.” This expands the research boundaries of new energy transition's social impacts beyond environmental and economic dimensions, enriching our understanding of multidimensional determinants of talent aggregation in the era of green development. • This paper grounded in complex ecosystem theory and push-pull theory, it constructs a theoretical framework for how new energy transition drives talent aggregation across natural, economic, and social dimensions. This unlocks the “black box” of how new energy transition influences talent aggregation, providing a more nuanced theoretical explanation for the synergistic relationship between green transition and talent development. • This paper analyzes the differentiated effects of urban new energy transition on talent aggregation across dimensions including city location, socioeconomic development, resource endowments, and sector-specific talent. This provides targeted insights for governments at all levels to design coordinated policies, helping attract talent through new energy transition to address regional talent imbalances and advance high-quality urban development and technological progress.