Abstract
The role of human capital in driving urban growth has been a central topic in urban economics and economic geography. However, limited attention has been given to how skill-based human capital contributes to sustainable urban employment growth, particularly in developing countries undergoing technological transitions. This study examines the impact of skill-based human capital on employment growth using China’s 2000, 2010, and 2020 census data. Measuring skill-related thickness through skill-relatedness density, we find a significant positive effect on employment growth, primarily through creating new firms and enhancing innovation outputs. The impact varies across skill types and city sizes: cognitive and technical skills play the most prominent roles in driving employment growth by promoting both entrepreneurship and innovation, and the positive effect of skill-related thickness is stronger in large cities. This study provides policy insights on how cultivating skill-related labour markets can enhance urban resilience and support sustainable urban development trajectories. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2025.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 10 |
| Number of pages | 31 |
| Journal | The Annals of Regional Science |
| Volume | 75 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| Online published | 22 Dec 2025 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Mar 2026 |
Bibliographical note
Full text of this publication does not contain sufficient affiliation information. With consent from the author(s) concerned, the Research Unit(s) information for this record is based on the existing academic department affiliation of the author(s).Funding
The funding was provided by Hong Kong Polytechnic University (Grant No. P0048939), City University of Hong Kong (Project Grant No. 9380167), National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 41971157).
UN SDGs
This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
-
SDG 1 No Poverty -
SDG 4 Quality Education -
SDG 8 Decent Work and Economic Growth -
SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities -
SDG 17 Partnerships for the Goals
Research Keywords
- Skill-related thickness
- Empolyment
- China
- Urban labour market
Publisher's Copyright Statement
- COPYRIGHT TERMS OF DEPOSITED POSTPRINT FILE: This version of the article has been accepted for publication, after peer review (when applicable) and is subject to Springer Nature’s AM terms of use, but is not the Version of Record and does not reflect post-acceptance improvements, or any corrections. The Version of Record is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00168-025-01442-x.
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