Abstract:    Driving technological progress by motivating companies to carry out employee training is the key to realizing the internal talent dividend. Utilizing the external shock of Fiscal Taxation Policy No. 63 (2015), which increases the pre-tax deduction ratio of employee education expenses in high-tech companies to 8%, we analyzed the effect and mechanism of employee training incentive on technological progress from the perspective of internal talent dividend based on the theory of human capital and efficiency wage. We employed the difference-in-differences method and found that employee training incentive significantly promotes technological progress, and the greater the cumulative investment in employee training, the greater the technological progress. The mechanism test showed that employee training incentive increases human capital investment and efficiency wage, thereby facilitating technological progress. Furthermore, employee training incentive exhibits an internal talent dividend effect, which is reflected in replacing external talent hiring, promoting internal human capital upgrading and encouraging companies to expand diversified business. The heterogeneity test indicated that when asset specificity is high and product market competition is intense, the promotion effect of employee training incentive on technological progress becomes more obvious. The research conclusions will offer policy insights for the cultivation and maintenance of human capital in enterprises, as well as for fostering an innovative environment.

Key words: employee training, technological progress, talent dividend, human capital, efficiency wage