High-Speed Railway Facilities, Intercity Accessibility and Urban Innovation Level—Evidence from Cities in Three Chinese Megacity Regions

Na Li, Haiyan Lu and Yongxin Lv
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Na Li: Institute of Urban and Demographic Studies, Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, Shanghai 200020, China
Haiyan Lu: School of Economics and Management, Harbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen), Shenzhen 518055, China
Yongxin Lv: School of Economics and Management, Harbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen), Shenzhen 518055, China

Land, 2022, vol. 11, issue 8, 1-16

Abstract: This paper investigates the impact of high-speed railways (HSR) on urban innovation levels by improving intercity accessibility. We employ prefecture city-level data within three megacity regions in China from 2009 to 2018. Using the number of invention patents granted as a proxy for the innovation level of a city, we find that HSR facilities significantly improve urban innovation levels through better regional intercity accessibility and that there is a diminishing effect as commuting time increases. The impact mechanisms of innovation improvement can be explained by an ever-increasing potential of interaction activities among talents and technology investment opportunities among cities. We contribute to the literature by highlighting the spatial attenuation impact of HSR on urban innovation levels as well as the underlying mechanisms. Particularly, talent interaction exerts a larger effect on urban innovation levels than technology investment opportunities. Moreover, we unravel the heterogeneous effects that more innovative cities and cities with double first-class universities gain more from the improved intercity accessibility brought by HSR. This research has policy implications that promoting HSR facilities improves innovation levels of cities with different resources.

Keywords: HSR; urban innovation level; intercity accessibility; megacity regions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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