Socioeconomic impact assessments of high-Speed rail: A meta-Analysis

Abstract

The interest in the socioeconomic impact assessments of the highspeed rail (HSR) system is burgeoning as many countries are considering investing in such a system. While extensive studies have provided a wide range of evaluations of HSR on the socioeconomic impact, primarily from an ex-post perspective, it remains unclear how reliable the evaluation outcomes were, given the variety of data, method and research framework being adopted. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the socioeconomic impact studies of high-speed rail (HSR), based on 242 academic publications. In particular, we examined to what extent the impact outcome is influenced by various modelling factors, such as data, model, and research design, using meta-analysis based on 368 empirical estimates derived from 45 empirical studies. Our analysis confirms that the factors of research design (e.g. variables, data, and modelling method) do have various influences on the empirical estimates of HSR project appraisals. In the end, the paper discusses the implications for future infrastructure project appraisals.

Socio‐economic impact of China's infrastructure‐led growth model in Africa: A case study of the Kenyan Standard Gauge Railway

“…We draw our analytical framework of socio‐economic impact from Cheng and Chen (2022). This meta‐analysis, by analysing 242 academic publications, is by far one of the most comprehensive assessments of railway projects' socio‐economic impact.…”

“…Conceptual model for SGR socio‐economic impact assessment. Source : Adapted from Cheng and Chen (2022) based on Kenyan SGR analytical needs…”

Wellbeing Impact Study of High-Speed 2 (WISH2): Protocol for a mixed-methods examination of the impact of major transport infrastructure development on mental health and wellbeing

“…Therefore, 356 responses would be needed from both intervention and control cohorts at each of two time points for the same power from this analysis framework. As the recruitment target is 1,200 participants per group per HS2 Phase (n = 4,800 in total), and 600 participants per group for the part of the route not proceeding as planned (1,200 in total) the study will be well-powered to detect a meaningful difference in the primary outcome using a DiD framework, and separate analyses for Phases 2a and 2b will be feasible. 3.…”

“…A recent metaanalysis found that the majority of studies investigating the impact of high-speed rail system developments have focused on changes in accessibility, modes of transport, the environment, tourism, housing or land, labour market, and economic performance [1]. Very limited consideration has been given to health impacts, particularly impacts on mental health and wellbeing [1,2]. Transport infrastructure, such as railways, can create physical or psychological barriers in the local community that impact health and wellbeing by disrupting social connectedness, reducing opportunities for exercise, and reducing accessibility to local health services and supermarkets with healthy food options [3][4][5][6].…”

The impact of city public transportation use on the competitiveness between high-speed rail and the car: The example of the Prague – Brno connection

“…At the same time, high-quality connections to HSR bring new agglomeration effects to centres (e.g., Ahlfeldt and Feddersen, 2018, in the case of the German cities of Cologne and Frankfurt am Main). A recent overview of the socio-economic impacts of HSR is provided by e.g., Cheng and Chen (2022).…”