A causality analysis between spatial differences in economic development and transporation development in China

Abstract

This paper analyzes the spatial differences in transportation development and regional economic development in the whole and eight economic regions of China from 1997 to 2017, as well as their Granger causality. The basic conclusions include that the spatial differences in national highway and railway development is more significant than that in economic development. The transportation development of each province in the Northwest Economic Zone is very different. The imbalance of economic development in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and Southwest Economic Zone is increasing. There is a bidirectional causal relationship between the spatial differences of the highway development and economic development for the country. Also, a one-way causal relationship from the unbalanced development of economy to the unbalanced development of railway is tested in Northwest Economic Zone, and in the Eastern and Southern coastal economic zones, the unbalanced development of highways Granger cause the unbalanced development of economy.