“Ghost Cities” versus Boom Towns: Do China’s HSR New Towns Thrive?

In China, local governments often build “new towns” far from the city center but close to new high-speed rail (HSR) stations. While some HSR new towns experience economic growth, others have been vacant for years and become “ghost cities.” This study explores the determinants of this heterogeneity. Using satellite imagery and online archives of government documents, the authors identify 180 HSR new towns. The authors use several datasets to measure local economic growth at a fine spatial scale. Building on the recent economic geography literature, the authors implement an instrumental variable strategy and a difference-in-differences approach that estimates the treatment effect with counterfactual locations to study how the creation of a new HSR station stimulates local economic growth. The authors find that the location and local market access are key determinants of the success of new towns. “Ghost cities” are more likely to emerge if the new stations are located too far from the existing city center or the city itself has weak market access.

• Record URL:
  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2021.103682
• Record URL:
  http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0166046221000429
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/01660462
• Supplemental Notes:
  • © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Abstract reprinted with permission of Elsevier.
• Authors:
  • Dong, Lei
  • Du, Rui
  • Kahn, Matthew
  • Ratti, Carlo
  • Zheng, Siqi
• Publication Date: 2021-7

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Web
• Features: Appendices; Figures; Maps; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 103682
• Serial:
  • Regional Science and Urban Economics
  • Volume: 89
  • Issue Number: 0
  • Publisher: Elsevier
  • ISSN: 0166-0462
  • Serial URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/01660462

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Development; Economic growth; High speed rail; Location; Markets; Towns
• Geographic Terms: China
• Subject Areas: Economics; Planning and Forecasting; Railroads;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01782155
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Sep 22 2021 11:54AM