The spatial impacts of a massive rail disinvestment program: the Beeching axe

Gibbons, Stephen ORCID: 0000-0002-2871-8562, Heblich, Stephan and Pinchbeck, Edward W. (2024) The spatial impacts of a massive rail disinvestment program: the Beeching axe. Journal of Urban Economics, 143. ISSN 0094-1190

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Abstract

This paper investigates the reversibility of the effects of transport infrastructure investments, based on a programme that removed much of the rail network in Britain during the mid-20th century. We find that a 10% loss in rail access between 1950 and 1980 caused a persistent 3% decline in local population relative to unaffected areas, implying that the 1 in 5 places most exposed to the cuts saw 24 percentage points less population growth than the 1 in 5 places that were least exposed. The cuts reduced local jobs and shares of skilled workers and young people.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	© 2024 The Author(s)
Divisions:	Geography & Environment Centre for Economic Performance
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HE Transportation and Communications H Social Sciences > HC Economic History and Conditions H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor
JEL classification:	H - Public Economics > H5 - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies > H54 - Infrastructures; Other Public Investment and Capital Stock R - Urban, Rural, and Regional Economics > R1 - General Regional Economics > R10 - General R - Urban, Rural, and Regional Economics > R4 - Transportation Systems > R40 - General N - Economic History > N7 - Transport, International and Domestic Trade, Energy, Technology, and Other Services > N74 - Europe: 1913-
Date Deposited:	13 Aug 2024 10:18
Last Modified:	18 Nov 2024 21:06
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/124531

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