High-speed Railway’s Opening and Commercial Development: A Test Perspective of Multi-period Difference-in-difference

Abstract

The high-speed railway’s opening will bring huge consumer groups for the commercial development of the city where the high-speed railway station is located. Based on the panel data of 233 prefecture-level cities in China from 2006-2017, this paper explores the impact of the high-speed railway’s opening on local commercial development and its internal mechanism by using multi-period difference-in-difference method. It is found that the high-speed railway’s opening significantly promotes the development of local commerce, especially in the third tier and lower cities; the higher the investment in local real estate development, the stronger the promotion effect of high-speed railway on local commerce. This paper shows that policymaker should do a good job in supporting commercial operation facilities, guide high-speed rail groups to expand consumption and dialectically understand the rationality of real estate development.