The Faster the Healthier: China's High-Speed Rail Expansion and Mental Health

With the rapid pace of urbanization and increasing economic specialization, the mental health of middle-aged and elderly adults is becoming an urgent concern, particularly in the wake of challenges such as rising unemployment and the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. While high-speed rail (HSR) networks have played an increasingly significant role in regional economic development, their impact on public health—especially mental health—remains underexplored. The present paper is the first study targeting on mental health of the expansion of HSR network among the particular group, i.e., the middled-aged and elderly adults who are with accumulative wealth and losing health. Leveraging Staggered Difference-in-Differences (DID) and high-dimensional fixed effects (HDFE), this study investigates the cumulative effects of HSR development on individuals’ mental health using micro-panel data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) for the years 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2018. After addressing endogenous issues, our findings suggest that both the introduction and further operation of HSR services positively influence the mental health of this demographic group. These results hold up under a series of robustness checks. Furthermore, the mechanisms behind this improvement include increased mobility for social visits, enhanced regional green technology innovation, and reduced pollution levels. The positive impact is particularly pronounced among individuals who are not yet retired and remains consistent across various residential and domicile settings. This paper offers a novel contribution to the growing body of literature on HSR network expansion and public health, providing critical insights for future transportation and urban planning initiatives.