The Sustainable Impact of High-Speed Rail Connection on the Local and Neighboring Regions’ Employment: Evidence from China
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsDear Authors,
Thank you for reading an interesting paper.
I have only a few questions and comments that can improve your paper.
(1) The idea of ​​this paper is very good and interesting, but the overall result is only a positive impact of HSR on employment? or on mobility? Can you describe it in more detail? Provide evidence that this is indeed the case. How does HSR affect employment? It requires a deeper thought than just such a statement.
(2) Following the above-mentioned comment, complete the analysis to what extent does HSR affect overall mobility? It is not mentioned anywhere. How much has mobility increased? Express it in terms of transport performance (eg the number of passengers transported before HSR and after the introduction of HSR, or choose other indicators).
(3) The individual components of formula (1) are not explained, complete them.
(4) Table 1 should be moved to the subsection where it is first mentioned, not three subsections later.
(5) In what units is Table 1? You also describe the materials and yearbooks used, but nowhere is Table 1 described in more detail.
(6) Complete the Discussion section, where all possibilities within this research would be evaluated in detail, tests created and similar. Next, what is the overall result of this research, because the paper seems complex at first glance. Perhaps tables or graphs that will express the overall assessment would be appropriate. Also include possible influences that could affect this outcome in the future. Try to describe it.
(7) Compare the positive and negative effects of the introduction of the HSR and also their positive and negative effects on the economic development of the country and the like. Choose the appropriate indicators. It could be interesting.
Thank you.
Best regards.
Author Response
(1) The idea of this paper is very good and interesting, but the overall result is only a positive impact of HSR on employment? or on mobility? Can you describe it in more detail? Provide evidence that this is indeed the case. How does HSR affect employment? It requires a deeper thought than just such a statement.
Reply: Thank you very much for your comments and suggestions.
In the revision, we have also carefully investigated the spill-over effect from cities with HSR connection to cities without. We show that the effective radius of spill-over is roughly 70 km, and that this effect is more prominent for cities of medium size and cities locating in southern China. We also investigated the influencing channel through which this positive impact functions.
(2) Following the above-mentioned comment, complete the analysis to what extent does HSR affect overall mobility? It is not mentioned anywhere. How much has mobility increased? Express it in terms of transport performance (eg the number of passengers transported before HSR and after the introduction of HSR, or choose other indicators).
Reply：Thank you very much for your suggestion. Based on your comments, we have added the magnitude of this impact in the abstract, which is 5.99 %. For the heterogeneity analysis and the mechanism analysis, we also explicitly mention the magnitude of the impact of HSR connection.
(3) The individual components of formula (1) are not explained, complete them.
Reply: Thank you very much for your comments. We have added the detailed definition and explanations in the revision.
(4) Table 1 should be moved to the subsection where it is first mentioned, not three subsections later.
Reply：Thank you very much for your comments. Based on your comments we have made changes to place table (1) after section 3.1, further improving the readability and aesthetics of the paper with your suggestions.
(5) In what units is Table 1? You also describe the materials and yearbooks used, but nowhere is Table 1 described in more detail.
Reply：Thank you very much for your comments. We did not explain Table (1) sufficiently in the original manuscript, and based on your suggestion, we have added the units and the specific descriptions of Table (1) in section 3.1.
(6) Complete the Discussion section, where all possibilities within this research would be evaluated in detail, tests created and similar. Next, what is the overall result of this research, because the paper seems complex at first glance. Perhaps tables or graphs that will express the overall assessment would be appropriate. Also include possible influences that could affect this outcome in the future. Try to describe it.
Relpy: Thank you very much for your comments. In the revision, we have reorganized the results, especially results involving the spill-over effects. We have made changes accordingly from Table 5 to table 9, and have rewritten the economic intuition to make the results to be better comprehended by readers. As a result, we also rewrite the conclusion.
(7) Compare the positive and negative effects of the introduction of the HSR and also their positive and negative effects on the economic development of the country and the like. Choose the appropriate indicators. It could be interesting.
Reply: Thank you for your suggestion. We have further elaborated in the introduction section, in which the opening of the HSR promotes employment on the whole. HSR benefits the local city’s employment and other cities with a 70 km radius from the station. It also benefits eastern cities and large cities. However, HSR connection facilitates labor outflow from western cities and small cities, and the spill-over effect is negative for small cities and cities in the north. We explain these patterns using the economic intuition.
Reviewer 2 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsThe submitted article includes the comprehensive study of the effect of high-speed rail stations on neighboring regions’ employment. The article presents sound and interesting results. Before publication in the journal, the authors should correct several typos in the text (Lines 121, 289-290, 357-358) and clarify the phenomena of a decrease in employment promotion after reaching the maximum (Figure 1).
Author Response
The submitted article includes the comprehensive study of the effect of high-speed rail stations on neighboring regions’ employment. The article presents sound and interesting results. Before publication in the journal, the authors should correct several typos in the text (Lines 121, 289-290, 357-358) and clarify the phenomena of a decrease in employment promotion after reaching the maximum (Figure 1).
Reply：Thank you very much for your suggestion. According to the several typos you mentioned, we have made further corrections in the original text.
About Figure 1, a possible explanation is as follows: as an exogenous shock, the opening of HSR has a more significant effect on urban employment creation in the short term, and with the increase in the opening time of HSR, the total amount of urban employment tends to stabilize, and the opening of HSR still has a positive effect on urban employment, but the facilitating effect gradually diminishes.
Reviewer 3 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsI read this manuscript with great interest; the study examines the impact of the opening of the HSR on employment in the surrounding neighborhood in the context of sustainable development. Author(s) in this work present a different perspective for analyzing the impact of transport infrastructure and sustainable development on employment. The manuscript’s logic is OK with me and its topic falls within the issue’s scope. For all that, there are still some inappropriate expressions in it as shown below：
(1) In the empirical testing section, the first method in the robustness test, regarding the replacement of the explanatory variables, whether there is reference corroboration, or other more convincing tests.
(2) Labor Spillover Phenomenon: Further clarify the labor spillover phenomenon, particularly why labor flow shifts to more distant areas when HSR stations are more than 70 km away from city centers. This explanation should link to economic theories or previous studies.
(3) The mechanism analysis of the changes in land prices as a result of the opening of the HSR suggests that the mechanism of the impact of the HSR on employment should be further elaborated to make it easier to understand.
(4) The introduction mentions the relevance of closed-loop systems and circular economy practices but does not delve deeply into existing literature on these topics. It is essential to briefly review key studies that have addressed the role of HSR in promoting sustainable development, talent mobility, and employment distribution.
(5) It is suggested to add some charts in the article, for example, in the introduction section, add some charts about the trend of the mileage of the high-speed railway in different years, which can better represent the importance of the opening of the high-speed railway.
(6) It is recommended that the introduction be further strengthened to improve clarity, coherence and focus in the light of the findings available and the theme of the article. This will enhance the overall impact and readability of the paper.
Comments on the Quality of English LanguageThe language is OK with me, there may some minor places to be revised
Author Response
I read this manuscript with great interest; the study examines the impact of the opening of the HSR on employment in the surrounding neighborhood in the context of sustainable development. Author(s) in this work present a different perspective for analyzing the impact of transport infrastructure and sustainable development on employment. The manuscript’s logic is OK with me and its topic falls within the issue’s scope. For all that, there are still some inappropriate expressions in it as shown below：
Reply: Thank you very much for your valuable comments, which have been instrumental in further improving the quality of this article. We have carefully considered your feedback, engaging in extensive discussions and thorough deliberations. As a result, we have made significant revisions to the dissertation based on your suggestions. We believe that your contributions have greatly enhanced the paper's quality. Below are the revision notes for the article:
(1) In the empirical testing section, the first method in the robustness test, regarding the replacement of the explanatory variables, whether there is reference corroboration, or other more convincing tests.
Reply：Thank you for your comments. We have added a citation accordingly.
(2) Labor Spillover Phenomenon: Further clarify the labor spillover phenomenon, particularly why labor flow shifts to more distant areas when HSR stations are more than 70 km away from city centers. This explanation should link to economic theories or previous studies.
Reply: Thank you for your comments. In the revision, we exclude the local region (the city to which a HSR station belongs) when testing the spill-over effect. After this revision, we also add some economic intuition from the perspective of the selection of the location for HSR stations. We conjecture that labor of cities that did not have HSR connection (which indicate that they lost the competition for HSR connection to a neighboring city) are easier to be attracted to adjacent cities with HSR connection, while cities without HSR connection but not too close to cities with HSR connection have less outflow and more investments and job opportunities.
(3) The mechanism analysis of the changes in land prices as a result of the opening of the HSR suggests that the mechanism of the impact of the HSR on employment should be further elaborated to make it easier to understand.
Reply: Thank you for your comments. We investigated the change of land price as a possible channel for the increase of firm entry, while firm entry is a channel for the increase in employment. However, in the revision, considering that land price is in fact only an indirect channel, and that the direct channel through which this indirect channel may work has been investigated, we remove the discussion about land price. We add a footnote discussing the change of the land price after HSR connection.
(4) The introduction mentions the relevance of closed-loop systems and circular economy practices but does not delve deeply into existing literature on these topics. It is essential to briefly review key studies that have addressed the role of HSR in promoting sustainable development, talent mobility, and employment distribution.
Reply: Thanks to your suggestion, we have added some content to the literature review on the mechanism of the impact of high-speed railway opening on innovation and the promotion of green innovation development in cities along the route for further explanation.
We also investigate in the mechanism analysis what industries benefit the most from the HSR connection. We show that the entry of firms in high-tech industries increased by 98 percent, while the firm entry was not affected in heavily-polluting industries and labor intensive industries. This finding supports HSR’s role in promoting sustainable development, talent mobility and employment distributions.
(5) It is suggested to add some charts in the article, for example, in the introduction section, add some charts about the trend of the mileage of the high-speed railway in different years, which can better represent the importance of the opening of the high-speed railway.
Reply: Thank you for your suggestion. We have included a figure illustrating the increase of HSR mileage by year.
(6) It is recommended that the introduction be further strengthened to improve clarity, coherence and focus in the light of the findings available and the theme of the article. This will enhance the overall impact and readability of the paper.
Reply: Thank you for your suggestions. We have rewritten the introduction almost completely, to incorporate new results. We also add several paragraphs about the methodology, the focus and the main findings.
