American Journal of Industrial and Business Management, 2021, 11, 599-610 https://www.scirp.org/journal/ajibm ISSN Online: 2164-5175 ISSN Print: 2164-5167 DOI: 10.4236/ajibm.2021.116038 Jun. 7, 2021 599 American Journal of Industrial and Business Management Human Capital and Energy Efficiency: Evidence from Developing Countries Bless Kofi Edziah 1 , Huaping Sun 1* , Emmanuel Anyigbah 2 , Liang Li 3 1 Institute of Industrial Economics, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, China 2 School of Finance and Economics, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, China 3 School of Business, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing, China Abstract This study explores the effect of human capital on energy efficiency in a panel of developing countries from 1990 to 2017. Using the stochastic frontier model and the energy demand function, our results show that human capital can increase energy efficiency. Even after controlling for certain factors, the variable for human capital result remains unchanged. With regards to the controls, green innovation increased energy efficiency, while institutional quality showed an insignificant relation with energy efficiency. In general, the research results show that one essential positive externality of human capital development is that it promotes a greener future through energy conserva- tion. Our findings can provide policymakers and governments with good reasons why more attention should be paid to human capital development to stimulate energy efficiency and a green future. Keywords Human Capital, Energy Efficiency, Stochastic Frontier Analysis, Energy Demand Function 1. Introduction As the population of developing countries grows, energy demand will increase accordingly, thereby further exacerbating the climate change problem. For these countries, measures to address climate change and sustainability often focus on reducing the use of dirty energy sources such as coal and oil (Rafindadi, 2016; Sun et al., 2020b; Wang & Li, 2016). However, promoting and supporting green technological innovation, (such as smart climate infrastructure and design, and low-carbon and energy-efficient transportation systems) are often more sus- How to cite this paper: Edziah, B. K., Sun, H., Anyigbah, E., & Li, L. (2021). Human Capital and Energy Efficiency: Evidence from Developing Countries. American Journal of Industrial and Business Management, 11, 599-610. https://doi.org/10.4236/ajibm.2021.116038 Received: April 30, 2021 Accepted: June 4, 2021 Published: June 7, 2021 Copyright © 2021 by author(s) and Scientific Research Publishing Inc. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution International License (CC BY 4.0). http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Open Access