The impact and mechanism of high-speed rail on energy efficiency: an empirical analysis based on 285 cities of China.

ABSTRACT

Improving energy efficiency is an important measure of environmental governance. At present, studies on the impact of high-speed rail on energy efficiency need to be further studied. This paper constructs panel data of 285 cities at prefecture-level and above in China from 2003 to 2017, and uses the difference-in-difference (DID) to study the impact of high-speed railway on urban energy efficiency. Based on the theories of "factor flow," "knowledge spillover," and "center-periphery," this paper discusses the influence mechanism and heterogeneity of high-speed railway on energy efficiency. The empirical results show that high-speed railway can significantly improve energy efficiency, and the conclusion is still valid after parallel trend test, propensity score matching and difference-in-difference (PSM-DID) test, and instrumental variable method. The results remained true after a series of robustness tests. Mechanism analysis shows that high-speed railway can improve energy efficiency by promoting industrial structure upgrading, technological innovation, and market integration. Analysis of heterogeneity shows that the promotion effect of high-speed railway on energy efficiency is greater in central and western cities and core cities. This study provides useful enlightenment for optimizing China's high-speed rail construction planning and seizing the opportunity of high-speed rail development to improve energy efficiency.