The Spatial Impacts of a Massive Rail Disinvestment Program: The Beeching Axe

Stephen Gibbons, Stephan Heblich and Edward Pinchbeck

No 32800, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: This paper investigates the reversibility of the effects of transport infrastructure investments, based on a programme that removed much of the rail network in Britain during the mid-20th Century. We find that a 10% loss in rail access between 1950 and 1980 caused a persistent 3% decline in local population relative to unaffected areas, implying that the 1 in 5 places most exposed to the cuts saw 24 percentage points less population growth than the 1 in 5 places that were least exposed. The cuts reduced local jobs and shares of skilled workers and young people.

JEL-codes: H5 N74 R1 R40 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024-08
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-geo, nep-his, nep-tre and nep-ure
Note: DAE
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Published as Stephen Gibbons & Stephan Heblich & Edward W. Pinchbeck, 2024. "The spatial impacts of a massive rail disinvestment program: The Beeching Axe," Journal of Urban Economics, vol 143.

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Related works:
Working Paper: The spatial impacts of a massive rail disinvestment program: the Beeching axe (2018)
Working Paper: The spatial impacts of a massive rail disinvestment program: the Beeching Axe (2018)
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