The spatial impacts of a massive rail disinvestment program: the Beeching axe
Gibbons, S.
, Heblich, S. & Pinchbeck, E. W.
(2024).
The spatial impacts of a massive rail disinvestment program: the Beeching axe.
Journal of Urban Economics,
143,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jue.2024.103691
, Heblich, S. & Pinchbeck, E. W.
(2024).
The spatial impacts of a massive rail disinvestment program: the Beeching axe.
Journal of Urban Economics,
143,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jue.2024.103691
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.
Explore Further
- HE Transportation and Communications
- HC Economic History and Conditions
- HD Industries. Land use. Labor
- H54 - Infrastructures; Other Public Investment and Capital Stock
- R10 - General
- R40 - General
- N74 - Europe: 1913-
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Pinchbeck, E.
Gibbons, S. & Heblich, S.
(2024).
Data and Code for The Spatial Impacts of a Massive Rail Disinvestment Program: the Beeching Axe.
[Dataset]. Mendeley Data.
https://doi.org/10.17632/mnh3y7dn3j
