The Impact of High-Speed Rail Opening on Urban Economy Empirical Evidence from China

Abstract

The business scale of China's high-speed railroad is increasing, which has brought important impact on the economy of the cities passing along the high-speed railroad. High-speed railroad has faster speed, safer, and stronger ability to transport goods compared with train, which provides a better choice for people's transportation, tourism, etc., and also has a great impact on the economic development of the cities along the route. This paper is based on the Wuhan-Guangzhou high-speed railway along Hunan Province.To ensure accurate empirical results, we specifically choose Hunan Province as the basis for data analysis, as it is the only province in the area and eliminates potential interference from other municipalities. We collect data from 2005 to 2019, specifically from prefectural-level cities and above. The empirical analysis is conducted using the double difference model (DID). An analysis is conducted on the effects of high-speed railroads on the growth rate of GDP, per capita GDP, the total employment at the end of the year, and the urban development along the lines. The findings indicate that high-speed rail has a discernible bias in its economic impact on cities along its route. Specifically, it has a substantial influence on the employment and urbanisation development of these cities. However, it does not have a significant effect on the short-term per capita GDP and its growth rate.