Does high-speed rail improve urban carbon emission efficiency in China?

Xiang Li and Zhonghua Cheng

Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, 2022, vol. 84, issue C

Abstract: Based on various quasi-natural experimental high-speed rail scenarios in China, this paper both selects the panel data of 285 cities from 2003 to 2018 and adopts the Multi-time Difference-in-Differences method to analyze the impact of high-speed rail on urban carbon emission efficiency. Following this, the possible transmission mechanisms are explored. The results show that high-speed rail can significantly improve urban carbon emission efficiency with the conclusion still valid after conducting a series of robustness tests. The heterogeneity results indicate that the promoting effects of high-speed rail on urban carbon emission efficiency are more significant in non-resource-based cities and large cities. Further analyses of the transmission mechanisms show that high-speed rail may improve urban carbon emission efficiency through technological innovation, structural optimization, a strengthening of environmental regulations and a weakening of market segmentation.

Keywords: High-speed railway; Carbon emission efficiency; Quasi natural experiment; Difference-in-Differences model (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (9)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:soceps:v:84:y:2022:i:c:s0038012122000933

DOI: 10.1016/j.seps.2022.101308

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