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Rail access and subjective well-being: Evidence from quality of life surveys

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  • Wu, Wenjie

Abstract

The development of rail transit infrastructure is a key policy focus—particularly in countries like China, which have experienced fast urbanisation over the past decade. This paper uses unique data and innovative methods to explore the perceived satisfaction impacts of transport improvements at a very detailed geographical scale. The results quantify new evidence on the links between rail access and perceived satisfaction measures with respect to different dimensions of living environment. The empirical evidence suggests that rail access is significantly valued by households and that these subjective valuations are not distributed evenly across space or social groups. The results also reinforce the impression that changes in perceived satisfaction measures might be reflected in changes in housing demand so in some way may be capitalized into local real estate markets.

Suggested Citation

  • Wu, Wenjie, 2015. "Rail access and subjective well-being: Evidence from quality of life surveys," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(2), pages 456-470.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jcecon:v:43:y:2015:i:2:p:456-470
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jce.2014.03.009
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Transport infrastructure; Quality of life; Welfare; China;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D62 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Externalities
    • H41 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Public Goods
    • P35 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist Institutions and Their Transitions - - - Public Finance

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