Abstract 

The Sustainable Development Goal 7 seeks universal access to energy, substantial increase in the share of renewable energy and doubling of energy efficiency efforts. The success of these targets most likely depends on maximizing, where they exist, positive synergies or trade-offs with other development outcomes. Studies investigating the relationship between energy efficiency and (un)employment remain inconclusive and mainly focus their analysis on the energy-supply side, neglecting the demand side.

PurposeThere is a paucity of research on the causal relationships between talent management (TM), decent work and national well-being. Hence, this study examines the nexus between macro talent management (MTM) practices, decent work and national well-being.Design/methodology/approachThe authors employed longitudinal data from 77 developing countries across the globe and also utilised panel data estimators and the bootstrapping mediation method for the analyses.FindingsThe results indicated that macro-level TM strategies can have a positive impact on decent work.