Airports and regional inequality: Evidence from China

IF 6.3 2区工程技术 Q1 ECONOMICS

Transport Policy Pub Date : 2025-09-29 DOI:10.1016/j.tranpol.2025.103829

Wenbin Zuo , Fanglin Chen

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Investment in transportation infrastructure is a critical strategy for narrowing regional development disparities. As critical nodes in the global transportation network, airports possess unique advantages in bridging these disparities. Utilizing night light data, we construct indicators of regional inequality and conduct a longitudinal analysis of airports in China from 2000 to 2022, empirically assessing the significant impact of airports on alleviating county-level inequality. Our findings reveal that airports reduce county inequality by an average of 0.009 units, a conclusion supported by a series of robustness tests. Also, airports with high throughput play a more significant role. Moreover, our results illustrate complex interrelationships between airports and existing transportation infrastructure, demonstrating substitutability with railways and complementarity with roads. Heterogeneity analysis indicates that airports exert a more pronounced effect on reducing inequality in non-central cities and in areas with higher unemployment rates. Finally, our research establishes that airports help mitigate regional inequality by fostering entrepreneurship, enhancing employment in the tertiary sector, and attracting foreign investment. The research offers valuable insights for policymakers regarding the comprehensive planning of new transportation facilities and the optimization of transportation networks.

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机场与地区不平等：来自中国的证据

交通基础设施投资是缩小区域发展差距的关键战略。作为全球运输网络的关键节点，机场在弥合这些差距方面具有独特的优势。利用夜间灯光数据，构建区域不平等指标，对2000 - 2022年中国机场进行纵向分析，实证评估机场对缓解县域不平等的显著影响。我们的研究结果显示，机场平均减少了0.009个单位的县不平等，这一结论得到了一系列稳健性测试的支持。此外，高吞吐量机场的作用更为显著。此外，我们的研究结果说明了机场与现有交通基础设施之间复杂的相互关系，证明了与铁路的可替代性和与公路的互补性。异质性分析表明，在非中心城市和失业率较高的地区，机场在减少不平等方面的作用更为明显。最后，我们的研究表明，机场通过培养创业精神、促进第三产业就业和吸引外国投资，有助于缓解地区不平等。该研究为决策者提供了新的交通设施的综合规划和交通网络优化的有价值的见解。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Transport Policy Multiple-

CiteScore

12.10

自引率

10.30%

发文量

282

期刊介绍： Transport Policy is an international journal aimed at bridging the gap between theory and practice in transport. Its subject areas reflect the concerns of policymakers in government, industry, voluntary organisations and the public at large, providing independent, original and rigorous analysis to understand how policy decisions have been taken, monitor their effects, and suggest how they may be improved. The journal treats the transport sector comprehensively, and in the context of other sectors including energy, housing, industry and planning. All modes are covered: land, sea and air; road and rail; public and private; motorised and non-motorised; passenger and freight.