Associate Professor of City and Regional Planning Zhenhua Chen has published (with Qiyun Feng, Chuanchao Cheng, and Haiqing Chang) “Impact of high-speed rail on high-skilled labor mobility in China” in Transport Policy. 

This paper investigates the impact and mechanism of the opening of High-Speed Rail (HSR) on the mobility of high-skilled labor in China... From the perspective of urban location, the HSR has a more significant effect on the mobility of high-skilled labor in the cities in the eastern region than that in the central, western and northeast regions. In terms of the urban scale, compared with small and medium-sized cities, HSR is more conducive to the mobility of high-skilled labor in major cities. The results show that HSR can increase the number and scale of enterprises by expanding the scale of the market and attracting the mobility of high-skilled labor. Overall, the research findings provide critical evidence for future infrastructure planning and investment to achieve sustainable and high-quality development.

Read more at Transport Policy