Evaluating the impact of high-speed rail on county-level air quality in China

Abstract HSR can improve air quality at the city-level, but it is still a lack of evidence from the county-level. Due to the spatial interaction effect of air quality, the spatial econometric method is selected. Based on Air Quality Index (AQI) daily panel data of 47 counties in southern Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) from 2014 to 2017, Spatial Lag Model (SLM) and Spatial Durbin Model (SDM) are used to study the impact of HSR on county-level air quality. We found that: (1) air quality has a significant spatial spillover effect. (2) During the observation period, an HSR station can improve the air quality of the local county, but it will not affect the neighboring counties in the short run. (3) HSR does not produce a significant “corridor effect” on the air quality along the route. This paper provides some policy implications for the improvement of county-level air quality and planning of HSR.