High-speed rail expansion and housing prices in the "forgotten corners": Sub-City Level Evidence from Jiangsu Province in China

This paper investigates the impacts of high-speed rail (HSR) expansion on housing prices at the sub-city level. Using monthly sales data of newly built residential complexes in Jiangsu Province, China, from 2015 to 2018, and a generalized difference-in-differences approach, we compare housing price changes in areas with improved HSR accessibility from new station openings to those where accessibility remained unchanged. The results indicate a significant 20 % relative reduction in housing prices in areas with better accessibility due to new HSR stations located outside city boundaries, while no significant effect is found for areas gaining better accessibility from stations within city boundaries. These findings suggest the existence of "forgotten corners," where the administrative border fails to align with economic spillovers, leading to inefficiencies in infrastructure development. The results are robust across various distance ranges and are not mitigated by the availability of alternative transportation modes.