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Bridging the gap: Assessing the effects of railway infrastructure investments in Northwest China

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  • Yu, Lamont Bo
  • Tran, Trang My
  • Lee, Wang-Sheng

Abstract

This paper investigates the economic effects of the opening of the only high-speed rail (HSR) line in northwest China, which connects the northwestern provinces along the Silk Road land route. Northwest China faces two major geographical challenges for economic development: its landlocked location and rugged terrain. To assess the impact of the HSR line on economic activity in counties along this Silk Road land route, we utilise a recently developed machine-learning extended nightlight dataset spanning from 2000 to 2019. For this analysis, we employ the ridge augmented synthetic control method (Ben-Michael et al., 2021). Additionally, we propose an algorithm that automates the donor pool selection process while ensuring optimal pre-treatment comparability. Our findings demonstrate that the opening of the Lanzhou-Xinjiang HSR line resulted in both winners and losers. While there are indications that HSR contributes to progress towards breaking through the Hu Huanyong Line, a geographical demarcation in China that is of vast economic significance, not all counties benefited from the opening of the HSR line.

Suggested Citation

  • Yu, Lamont Bo & Tran, Trang My & Lee, Wang-Sheng, 2023. "Bridging the gap: Assessing the effects of railway infrastructure investments in Northwest China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:chieco:v:82:y:2023:i:c:s1043951x2300161x
    DOI: 10.1016/j.chieco.2023.102076
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    High-speed railway; Augmented synthetic control; Hu Huanyong Line; Nighttime light; Place-based policy;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O22 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Development Planning and Policy - - - Project Analysis
    • R11 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Regional Economic Activity: Growth, Development, Environmental Issues, and Changes
    • R58 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Regional Government Analysis - - - Regional Development Planning and Policy

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