Impact of Transport Infrastructure on Gross Regional Products: Evidence from Chinese Provinces under the “Belt and Road Initiative”

Purpose: This paper analyzes the impact of transport infrastructure on Gross Regional Products in Chinese provinces under the “Belt and Road Initiative”. Methods: The impact of the key elements of transport infrastructure on Gross Regional Products is analyzed based on the data related to development levels of transport infrastructure and economic development. Correlation and regression analyses were used for data analysis. Results: It is found that railways and highways, which are the key elements of transport infrastructure, have a strong correlation with Gross Regional Products, and their effects are diverse among provinces under study. Implications: The findings demonstrate the position and role of diverse infrastructural elements in enhancing the economic benefits of infrastructural investment and promoting economic growth. Thus, it is expected to facilitate decision-making related to infrastructural investment under the “Belt and Road Initiative”

Relationship between Transport Infrastructure and Employment: Evidence from the Chinese Inland Provinces under the “One Belt, One Road” Initiative

Purpose: This paper discusses the impact of transport infrastructure on employment in the Chinese inland provinces directly affecting by the “One Belt, One Road” initiative. Methods: The authors analyzed the impact of railways and highways- two key elements of transport infrastructure on employment in five Chinese inland provinces directly affected by the “One Belt, One Road” initiative. The data was collected from the National Bureau of Statistics of China and some databases related to “One Belt, One Road” for the period of 2008-2017. Descriptive statistics and graphic description approaches were used to analyze the data. Results: The findings show that there are unclear relationships between transport infrastructure and employment in the inland provinces under study as affected by “One Belt, One Road”.  Implications: Improvement of transport infrastructure as well as other relevant factors in creating jobs should be considered for generating employment in the provinces under study