Does High-Speed Rail Network Access Enhance Cities’ Innovation Performance?

Qunyang Du, Hangdong Yu, Cheng Yan and Tianle Yang
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Qunyang Du: School of Economics, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310023, China
Hangdong Yu: School of Economics, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310023, China
Cheng Yan: School of Economics, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310023, China
Tianle Yang: School of Economics, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310023, China

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 19, 1-13

Abstract: This study investigates the impacts of access to high-speed railway networks (HSRN) on urban innovative performance using a difference-in-difference method and a unique dataset including patents, nighttime lights, and HSRN at the city-level in China. First, access to HSRN significantly and positively affects the city’s innovative performance. Results remain robust after substituting different innovation indicators and controlling for city-level factors. Second, the impacts vary with the size of cities. Specifically, the benefits of access to HSRN for large and small cities are greater than for medium-sized cities, which shows a quasi-U-shaped relationship. Third, the positive effects of access to HSRN on innovation performance are stronger in knowledge-intensive industries for large cities and where there is high population mobility among cities.

Keywords: high-speed railway network; patent; DMSP/OLS; urban specialisation; population mobility (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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