High-speed rail, market access improvement, and land market outcomes

China has the most extensive high-speed rail (HSR) network in the world. This study investigated how HSR impacted the land market in China from 2004 to 2016, including land prices, supply, and leasing revenue. This study applied the difference-in-differences and market access methods. The results indicated that HSR networks significantly impacted land market outcomes, although there were considerable heterogeneities depending on land use, urban hierarchies, and geographical locations. There was a strong spatial mismatch between population urbanization and land lease suburbanization. HSR increased land prices and supply of service land use, suggesting that HSR promoted the formation of consumer cities. Residential and service land prices and population would decline by 17%, 52%, and 7%, respectively, in the absence of HSR networks. These results have implications for policymakers and planners in evaluating the benefits of HSR development and understanding how HSR reshapes land market and urban growth patterns in China.