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High‐speed Rail and Urban Economic Growth in China after the Global Financial Crisis
Author(s) -
Yao Shujie,
Zhang Fan,
Wang Feng,
Ou Jinghua
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
china and world economy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.815
H-Index - 28
eISSN - 1749-124X
pISSN - 1671-2234
DOI - 10.1111/cwe.12274
Subject(s) - china , pace , convergence (economics) , ceteris paribus , economics , financial crisis , economic expansion , economic geography , economic recovery , economic policy , macroeconomics , geography , archaeology , geodesy , microeconomics
High‐speed rail (HSR) has been an important driver of China's economic expansion over the last decade. Using data of 285 prefecture‐level cities over 2010–2014, this paper proposes an endogenous economic growth model to explain how and why HSR may have propelled China's economic growth by reducing the time‐space between cities. The research results show that HSR has a potent effect on urban economic growth and regional convergence. Ceteris paribus, HSR appears to have accelerated economic growth by more than 0.6 percent and the pace of regional economic convergence by approximately 2 percent per annum over the data period. Our research findings have important policy implications for the sustainability of China's economic development, backed by HSR.