钟超, 蔡宏波(通讯作者) & Qiaoling Shi, Will high-speed rail bring cleaning effect to the cities? Evidence from China, online published:October,2021,Applied Economics Letters, DOI: 10.1080/13504851.2021.1983132(SSCI)

ABSTRACT: Will high-speed rail improve air quality, or make it worse? We use data of 270 cities in China from 2000 to 2018 to study the impact of high-speed rail (HSR) on air pollution. Based on the difference-in-difference (DID) model, the regression results show that high-speed rail has reduced air pollution. But the results also show geographic differences. In underdeveloped areas, HSR will increase urban air pollution. The main mechanism is that HSR has affected the industrialization level and the entry of polluting enterprises. Especially in underdeveloped cities, HSR will increase industrial output and attract more polluting companies, which is not conducive to environmental governance.

KEYWORDS: High-speed railair, pollution, DID, underdevelopment area