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Railways and cities in India

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  • Fenske, James

    (University of Warwick and CAGE)

  • Kala, Namrata

    (SLOAN SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT, MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY)

  • Wei, Jinlin

    (University of Warwick)

Abstract

Using a new dataset on city populations in colonial India, we show that the railroad network increased city size in the period 1881 to 1931. Our baseline estimation approach includes fixed effects for city and year, and we construct instrumental variables for railroad proximity based on distance from a least cost path spanning cities that existed prior to the start of railroad construction. Cities that increased market access due to the railroad grew, particularly those cities that were initially small and isolated.

Suggested Citation

  • Fenske, James & Kala, Namrata & Wei, Jinlin, 2021. "Railways and cities in India," CAGE Online Working Paper Series 559, Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE).
    • Handle: RePEc:cge:wacage:559
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    File URL: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/economics/research/centres/cage/manage/publications/wp559.2021.pdf
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