High-speed rail benchmark train, efficient allocation of factors and industrial transformation and upgrading ——Theoretical model analysis and empirical evidence from 288 cities in China

As a high-quality product from China State Railway Group, HSR “benchmark” trains may exert an positive impact on the industrial upgrading, and the mechanism needs to be further analyzed. Therefore, using Diamond model and commodity pricing-industrial system upgrading model, theoretically deduces how HSR benchmark trains promote industrial transformation and upgrading through efficient factor allocation. Then manually collects data on HSR benchmark trains across 288 prefecture-level cities in China from 2013 to 2023, develops an industrial level indicator system and empirically examines how HSR benchmark trains affect the industrial transformation and upgrading. The results indicate the following: (1) HSR benchmark trains significantly facilitate the upgrading of cities' level of industrial system, and their role in promoting such upgrading exhibits significant heterogeneity across cities. (2) HSR benchmark trains drive the industrial transformation and upgrading by efficiently allocating technology and human capital; (3) The HSR benchmark trains driven evolution of cities' industrial transformation and upgrading generates positive spatial spillover effects, which show significant heterogeneity depending on inter-city distances and the position relative to the “Hu Huanyong Line”. Results show that accelerating the operation of HSR benchmark trains across cities at all levels not only facilitates the efficient allocation of driving technologies and human capital, but also strongly boosts China's high-quality modern industrial system development.