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Spatial spillovers of pollution via high-speed rail network in China

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  • Li, Hao
  • Guo, Huanxiu

Abstract

The advent of the high-speed railway (HSR) has dramatically reduced transportation costs in China and reshaped the economic geography. Provided that the HSR increased the mobility of production factors, industrial firms and their pollution emissions may also be reallocated between cities. This paper collects firm-level microdata and utilizes an adjusted spatial econometric model to study the spatial spillovers of air and water pollution via the HSR network. We find that a firm's pollution level is increased by the decline of pollution from firms located in the HSR-connected neighboring cities. Further investigations suggest that the spillover of Total Factor Productivity (TFP) via the HSR network is a possible mechanism through which the pollution are transmitted between cities. We also show evidence that the magnitude of pollution spillovers is highly correlated with regional economic growth, environmental investment, the number of industrial firms, and per capita rail length in a province.

Suggested Citation

  • Li, Hao & Guo, Huanxiu, 2021. "Spatial spillovers of pollution via high-speed rail network in China," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 138-152.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:trapol:v:111:y:2021:i:c:p:138-152
    DOI: 10.1016/j.tranpol.2021.07.020
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    2. Yan, Sen & Sun, Xinyu & Zhang, Yurong, 2024. "High-speed railway ripples on the greenness: Insight from urban green vegetation cover," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 179(C).
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    4. Zhao, Junfeng & Yan, Jinling & Ran, Qiying & Yang, Xiaodong & Su, Xufeng & Shen, Jianliang, 2022. "Does the opening of high-speed railways improve urban livability? Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment in China," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 82(PB).
    5. Huang, Yan & Ma, Liang & Cao, Jason, 2023. "Exploring spatial heterogeneity in the high-speed rail impact on air quality," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    6. Batabyal, Amitrajeet & Higano, Yoshiro & Nijkamp, Peter, 2024. "Introduction to Spatial Spillovers: Viewpoints from Asia," MPRA Paper 120901, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 08 May 2024.
    7. Jinxing Hu & Guojie Ma & Chaohai Shen & Xiaolan Zhou, 2022. "Impact of Urbanization through High-Speed Rail on Regional Development with the Interaction of Socioeconomic Factors: A View of Regional Industrial Structure," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-21, October.
    8. Sining Zhu & Zhou Zhou & Ran Li & Wenxing Li, 2022. "Impact of High-Speed Rail Construction on the Environmental Sustainability of China’s Three Major Urban Agglomerations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-24, February.
    9. Rui Ding & Jun Fu & Yiming Du & Linyu Du & Tao Zhou & Yilin Zhang & Siwei Shen & Yuqi Zhu & Shihui Chen, 2022. "Structural Evolution and Community Detection of China Rail Transit Route Network," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-19, September.
    10. Fan, Xiaomin & Xu, Yingzhi, 2024. "How does the opening of high-speed railway affect the regional pollution gap in China? From the perspective of knowledge spillover," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 203(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Pollution spillovers; Spatial econometrics; Transportation infrastructure; High-speed rail;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H54 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Infrastructures
    • R11 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Regional Economic Activity: Growth, Development, Environmental Issues, and Changes
    • R42 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics - - - Government and Private Investment Analysis; Road Maintenance; Transportation Planning
    • O18 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Urban, Rural, Regional, and Transportation Analysis; Housing; Infrastructure

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