Does the High-Speed Rail Improve Employment in Peripheral Cities? Evidence From China’s Beijing–Shanghai HSR Line

This study addresses the impacts of high-speed rail (HSR) on the employment rate on the periphery of HSR-connected cities. Using the Chinese municipal-level data sets of 2001 to 2017s, we have found that HSR could improve the average employment in peripheral cities on the route. However, HSR negatively affects employment in small and medium-sized peripheral cities while the large-sized peripheral cities benefit from its operation. Our evidence shows that the “siphon effect” on employment of large-sized peripheral cities on smaller neighbors happened specifically in the manufacturing sectors. This study provides important policy implications for HSR cities with different sizes and characteristics. Small- and medium-sized periphery HSR cities could appropriately response to HSR operation by readjusting the structure of manufacturing sectors, in order to avoiding employment loss.