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作者

来源

来源 JOURNAL OF URBAN ECONOMICS,Vol.98,P.124-138

语言

英文

关键字

N73;N93;R12;R40;Urban growth;Transport infrastructure;Railroads;Path dependence

作者单位

Department of Economic History, School of Economics and Management, Lund University, Sweden;Department of Economic History, School of Economics and Management, Lund University, Sweden

摘要

This paper studies the impact of railroads on 150 years of urban growth in Sweden, identifying the short- and long-term effects of a first wave of railroad construction. Difference-in-differences and instrumental variable estimates show that towns that gained access experienced substantial relative increases in population, though such growth mainly reflected a relocation of economic activity. Over the twentieth century, we find little evidence of convergence in town populations, despite the railroad network expanding further to connect nearly all towns. Evidence on historical investments and present-day factors is consistent with the idea that the transitory shock of the first railroads gave rise to path dependence in the location of economic activity.