The implications of the New Silk Road Railways on local development

Ling Fang, Martin Kleimann, Yuan Li and Hans-Jörg Schmerer

Journal of Asian Economics, 2021, vol. 75, issue C

Abstract: This paper studies the impact of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) on local development in Europe. In particular, we analyze regional treatment effects of the introduction of the China Railway Express on economic growth, employment, and intermodal transport volumes. The commissioning of rail connections under the umbrella of the BRI provides a natural experiment that can be evaluated empirically using causal inference techniques. On the aggregate level, our results show that establishing a new railway connection with China is not systematically associated with short-run economic growth. However, the new railway connections spurred local employment and road freight, i.e. boost intermodal transport. These aggregate findings are supplemented by additional evidence on sector-specific and regional spillover effects. These findings shed light on the increased relevance of BRI infrastructure projects for its future expansions.

Keywords: Belt and Road Initiative; Infrastructure; Development (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: F00 O52 O53 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:asieco:v:75:y:2021:i:c:s1049007821000555

DOI: 10.1016/j.asieco.2021.101326

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