IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/trapol/v130y2023icp141-154.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The impact of high-speed rail on urban economy: Synergy with urban agglomeration policy

Author

Listed:
  • Sun, Xinyu
  • Yan, Sen
  • Liu, Tao
  • Wang, Jiayin

Abstract

The economic externality of transportation infrastructure is related to the local policy environment. China's high-speed rail (HSR) is developing simultaneous with urban agglomeration (UA). This study examines the synergy of HSR operation and UA policy implementation on the urban economy. With the data on 285 prefecture-level cities of China joining the HSR network and UAs from 2003 to 2018, we use staggered difference-in-differences (DID) design to test the individual and joint impacts of HSR and UA policy on urban economy respectively. Our result shows that the joint impact of the two interventions is significantly stronger than the individual impact, which means the existence of the synergy effect. Exploration of the synergy mechanism identifies three channels through which the HSR effect is strengthened by UA policy: (a) Institutional integration effect: UA policy has eliminated the administrative barriers in HSR operation. (b) Spillover effect: UA policy has diffused the benefits of HSR, and (c) Efficiency effect: UA policy planning has strengthened the drive of HSR to urban efficiency. In addition, we find the specific sequence of intervention, the inauguration of HSR after the implementation of UA policy, can better promote the economy. Finally, a heterogeneity analysis is performed to study the impacts on center cities and non-center cities. We emphasize the importance of the cooperation of transportation infrastructure and regional policies, and provide a theoretical basis for the development of HSR industry and the implementation of UA strategy in China.

Suggested Citation

  • Sun, Xinyu & Yan, Sen & Liu, Tao & Wang, Jiayin, 2023. "The impact of high-speed rail on urban economy: Synergy with urban agglomeration policy," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 141-154.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:trapol:v:130:y:2023:i:c:p:141-154
    DOI: 10.1016/j.tranpol.2022.11.004
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0967070X22003080
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.tranpol.2022.11.004?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ivaldi, Marc & Pouyet, Jerome, 2018. "Eliciting the regulation of an economic system: The case of the French rail industry," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 21-30.
    2. Wan, Yulai & Ha, Hun-Koo & Yoshida, Yuichiro & Zhang, Anming, 2016. "Airlines’ reaction to high-speed rail entries: Empirical study of the Northeast Asian market," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 532-557.
    3. Junwei Ma & Jianhua Wang & Philip Szmedra, 2019. "Economic Efficiency and Its Influencing Factors on Urban Agglomeration—An Analysis Based on China’s Top 10 Urban Agglomerations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(19), pages 1-19, September.
    4. Wang, Kun & Xia, Wenyi & Zhang, Anming, 2017. "Should China further expand its high-speed rail network? Consider the low-cost carrier factor," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 105-120.
    5. Ollivier-Trigalo, Marianne & Barone, Sylvain, 2011. "The regionalization of rail transport in France. An analysis of the interplay between actors (from the late 1990s through the 2000s)," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 18(4), pages 604-612, August.
    6. Vickerman, Roger, 2018. "Can high-speed rail have a transformative effect on the economy?," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 31-37.
    7. Liu, Liwen & Zhang, Ming, 2018. "High-speed rail impacts on travel times, accessibility, and economic productivity: A benchmarking analysis in city-cluster regions of China," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 25-40.
    8. Zhang, Anming & Wan, Yulai & Yang, Hangjun, 2019. "Impacts of high-speed rail on airlines, airports and regional economies: A survey of recent research," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 1-19.
    9. Jiao, Jingjuan & Wang, Jiaoe & Jin, Fengjun, 2017. "Impacts of high-speed rail lines on the city network in China," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 257-266.
    10. Chen, Zhenhua & Haynes, Kingsley E., 2015. "Impact of high speed rail on housing values: an observation from the Beijing–Shanghai line," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 91-100.
    11. Michael Fritsch & Viktor Slavtchev, 2007. "What determines the efficiency of regional innovation systems?," Jena Economics Research Papers 2007-006, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena.
    12. Shi, Wenming & Lin, Kun-Chin & McLaughlin, Heather & Qi, Guanqiu & Jin, Mengjie, 2020. "Spatial distribution of job opportunities in China: Evidence from the opening of the high-speed rail," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 138-147.
    13. Zhenhua Chen & Kingsley E. Haynes, 2015. "Impact of high-speed rail on international tourism demand in China," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(1), pages 57-60, January.
    14. Ivaldi, Marc & McCullough, Gerard, 2007. "Railroad Pricing and Revenue-to-Cost Margins in the Post-Staggers Era," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 20(1), pages 153-178, January.
    15. Meng, Xuechen & Lin, Shanlang & Zhu, Xiaochuan, 2018. "The resource redistribution effect of high-speed rail stations on the economic growth of neighbouring regions: Evidence from China," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 178-191.
    16. Chen, Zhenhua & Haynes, Kingsley E., 2017. "Impact of high-speed rail on regional economic disparity in China," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 80-91.
    17. Tanaka, Shinsuke, 2015. "Environmental regulations on air pollution in China and their impact on infant mortality," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 90-103.
    18. Liu, Shuli & Wan, Yulai & Zhang, Anming, 2020. "Does China’s high-speed rail development lead to regional disparities? A network perspective," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 299-321.
    19. Pagliara, Francesca & Mauriello, Filomena & Garofalo, Antonio, 2017. "Exploring the interdependences between High Speed Rail systems and tourism: Some evidence from Italy," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 300-308.
    20. Yu Qin, 2017. "‘No county left behind?’ The distributional impact of high-speed rail upgrades in China," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 17(3), pages 489-520.
    21. Motasemi, F. & Afzal, Muhammad T. & Salema, Arshad Adam & Moghavvemi, M. & Shekarchian, M. & Zarifi, F. & Mohsin, R., 2014. "Energy and exergy utilization efficiencies and emission performance of Canadian transportation sector, 1990–2035," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 355-366.
    22. Johnson, Brian Edward, 2012. "American intercity passenger rail must be truly high-speed and transit-oriented," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 22(C), pages 295-296.
    23. Campa, Juan Luis & Arce, Rosa & López-Lambas, María Eugenia & Guirao, Begoña, 2018. "Can HSR improve the mobility of international tourists visiting Spain? Territorial evidence derived from the Spanish experience," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 94-107.
    24. Chen, Chia-Lin & Hall, Peter, 2012. "The wider spatial-economic impacts of high-speed trains: a comparative case study of Manchester and Lille sub-regions," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 89-110.
    25. Wang, Kun & Jiang, Changmin & Ng, Adolf K.Y. & Zhu, Zhenran, 2020. "Air and rail connectivity patterns of major city clusters in China," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 35-53.
    26. Li, Hui & Dong, Xiucheng & Jiang, Qingzhe & Dong, Kangyin, 2021. "Policy analysis for high-speed rail in China: Evolution, evaluation, and expectation," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 37-53.
    27. Danlin Yu & Yehua Dennis Wei, 2008. "Spatial data analysis of regional development in Greater Beijing, China, in a GIS environment," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 87(1), pages 97-117, March.
    28. Shao, Shuai & Tian, Zhihua & Yang, Lili, 2017. "High speed rail and urban service industry agglomeration: Evidence from China's Yangtze River Delta region," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 174-183.
    29. Shaw, Shih-Lung & Fang, Zhixiang & Lu, Shiwei & Tao, Ran, 2014. "Impacts of high speed rail on railroad network accessibility in China," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 112-122.
    30. Kam Wing Chan, 2010. "The Household Registration System and Migrant Labor in China: Notes on a Debate," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 36(2), pages 357-364, June.
    31. Yang, Zhiwei & Li, Can & Jiao, Jingjuan & Liu, Wei & Zhang, Fangni, 2020. "On the joint impact of high-speed rail and megalopolis policy on regional economic growth in China," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 20-30.
    32. Chen, Mingxing & Liu, Weidong & Lu, Dadao, 2016. "Challenges and the way forward in China’s new-type urbanization," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 334-339.
    33. Kiyoyasu Tanaka, 2019. "Do international flights promote FDI? The role of face‐to‐face communication," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(5), pages 1609-1632, November.
    34. Li, Hongchang & Yu, Kemei & Wang, Kun & Zhang, Anming, 2019. "Market power and its determinants in the Chinese railway industry," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 261-276.
    35. Fujita, Masahisa & Mori, Tomoya & Henderson, J. Vernon & Kanemoto, Yoshitsugu, 2004. "Spatial distribution of economic activities in Japan and China," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, in: J. V. Henderson & J. F. Thisse (ed.), Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 65, pages 2911-2977, Elsevier.
    36. Dablanc, Laetitia, 2009. "Regional policy issues for rail freight services," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 16(4), pages 163-172, August.
    37. Diao, Mi, 2018. "Does growth follow the rail? The potential impact of high-speed rail on the economic geography of China," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 279-290.
    38. Jia, Mengyuan & Liu, Yan & Lieske, Scott N. & Chen, Tian, 2020. "Public policy change and its impact on urban expansion: An evaluation of 265 cities in China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Yang, Zhiwei & Li, Can & Jiao, Jingjuan & Liu, Wei & Zhang, Fangni, 2020. "On the joint impact of high-speed rail and megalopolis policy on regional economic growth in China," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 20-30.
    2. Zhang, Fangni & Yang, Zhiwei & Jiao, Jingjuan & Liu, Wei & Wu, Wenjie, 2020. "The effects of high-speed rail development on regional equity in China," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 180-202.
    3. Li, Xiaolong & Wu, Zongfa & Zhao, Xingchen, 2020. "Economic effect and its disparity of high speed rail in China: A study of mechanism based on synthesis control method," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 262-274.
    4. Mohsen Momenitabar & Raj Bridgelall & Zhila Dehdari Ebrahimi & Mohammad Arani, 2021. "Literature Review of Socioeconomic and Environmental Impacts of High-Speed Rail in the World," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-27, November.
    5. Huang, Yan & Zong, Huiming, 2020. "The spatial distribution and determinants of China’s high-speed train services," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 56-70.
    6. Yu, Danlin & Murakami, Daisuke & Zhang, Yaojun & Wu, Xiwei & Li, Ding & Wang, Xiaoxi & Li, Guangdong, 2020. "Investigating high-speed rail construction's support to county level regional development in China: An eigenvector based spatial filtering panel data analysis," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 21-37.
    7. Jiao, Jingjuan & Wang, Jiaoe & Zhang, Fangni & Jin, Fengjun & Liu, Wei, 2020. "Roles of accessibility, connectivity and spatial interdependence in realizing the economic impact of high-speed rail: Evidence from China," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 1-15.
    8. Mohsen Momenitabar & Zhila Dehdari Ebrahimi & Mohammad Arani, 2020. "A Systematic and Analytical Review of the Socioeconomic and Environmental Impact of the Deployed High-Speed Rail (HSR) Systems on the World," Papers 2003.04452, arXiv.org, revised Mar 2020.
    9. Chen, Fanglin & Hao, Xinyue & Chen, Zhongfei, 2021. "Can high-speed rail improve health and alleviate health inequality? Evidence from China," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 266-279.
    10. Jin, Mengjie & Lin, Kun-Chin & Shi, Wenming & Lee, Paul T.W. & Li, Kevin X., 2020. "Impacts of high-speed railways on economic growth and disparity in China," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 158-171.
    11. Liu, Jingyang & Yang, Haoran, 2023. "Income allocation and distribution along with high-speed rail development in China," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 175(C).
    12. Huang, Ying & Xu, Wangtu (Ato), 2021. "Spatial and temporal heterogeneity of the impact of high-speed railway on urban economy: Empirical study of Chinese cities," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    13. Li, Hongchang & Wang, Kun & Yu, Kemei & Zhang, Anming, 2020. "Are conventional train passengers underserved after entry of high-speed rail?-Evidence from Chinese intercity markets," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 1-9.
    14. Zhang, Anming & Wan, Yulai & Yang, Hangjun, 2019. "Impacts of high-speed rail on airlines, airports and regional economies: A survey of recent research," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 1-19.
    15. Huang, Yuxia & Jiang, Chenxin & Wang, Kun & Xiao, Yibin & Zhang, Anming, 2021. "Public-private partnership in high-speed rail financing: Case of uncertain regional economic spillovers in China," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 64-75.
    16. Zheng, Longfei & Long, Fenjie & Chang, Zheng & Ye, Jingsong, 2019. "Ghost town or city of hope? The spatial spillover effects of high-speed railway stations in China," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 230-241.
    17. Liu, Liwen & Zhang, Ming, 2018. "High-speed rail impacts on travel times, accessibility, and economic productivity: A benchmarking analysis in city-cluster regions of China," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 25-40.
    18. Meng Tian & Tongping Li & Shuwang Yang & Yiwei Wang & Shuke Fu, 2019. "The Impact of High-Speed Rail on the Service-Sector Agglomeration in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-19, April.
    19. Liu, Shuli & Wan, Yulai & Zhang, Anming, 2020. "Does China’s high-speed rail development lead to regional disparities? A network perspective," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 299-321.
    20. Yu, Danlin & Zhang, Yaojun & Wu, Xiwei & Li, Ding & Li, Guangdong, 2021. "The varying effects of accessing high-speed rail system on China’s county development: A geographically weighted panel regression analysis," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:trapol:v:130:y:2023:i:c:p:141-154. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/30473/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.