We investigate how the configurations of urban railroads and highways have influenced urban form in Chinese cities since 1990. Each radial highway displaces at least 5 percent of central city population to surrounding regions and ring roads displace an additional 20 percent. Each radial railroad displaces 26 percent of central city industrial GDP with ring roads displacing an additional 50 percent. Products with high weight-to-value ratios appear unresponsive to transport changes. However, products with medium and low weight-to-value ratios decentralize in response to radial railroads and ring roads. Historical transportation infrastructure provides identifying variation in more recent measures of infrastructure.

Joint work with Nathaniel Baum-Snow, Loren Brandt, Matthew A. Turner and Qinghua Zhang

J.E.L.: R4, O2

Keywords: China, Roads, Railroads, Infrastructure