High-speed rail (HSR) construction is continuing at a rapid pace in the People's Republic of China (PRC) to improve rail's competitiveness in the passenger market and facilitate inter-city accessibility. To take advantage of spillover effects, bring economic cohesion at the local level, and...

To make Asia more economically sustainable and resilient against external shocks, regional economies need to be rebalanced toward regional demand- and trade-driven growth through increased regional connectivity. The effectiveness of connectivity depends on the quality of hard and soft...

This study addresses three questions that arise in Asia when formulating, financing, implementing, and maintaining transnational linkages versus purely domestic connections. Firstly, how is optimal economic space to be defined as a useful starting point? Secondly, how can relevant criteria be...

Pacific economies are confronted with several structural constraints that limit their economic growth, most importantly their small size and remoteness from major world markets. In this paper we study the importance of transport connectivity for Pacific economies when participating in the world...

Infrastructural development is crucial for regional trade integration. This study investigates the extent of regional trade interdependence of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its nexus with infrastructure. We selected 13 countries-ASEAN and three other countries (India,...

This paper introduces the concept of spillover tax revenues, which are also known as "indirect" or "secondary revenues," or "externality effects." Based on a case study of high-speed rail in Taipei,China, the spillover tax revenues are identified using the regional tax data through a DID...

In recent years, extreme weather around the world due to climate change has occurred increasingly frequently, and countries globally have gradually realized the harm caused by global warming. All countries are also making efforts to promote less consumption of fossil fuel energy and the use...

The People's Republic of China (PRC) has made massive investments since the late 1990s in highway infrastructure, connecting its rural and urban regions. In this paper, we study the impact of highway investments on the educational choices in rural PRC. Because enhanced connectivity facilitates...

Social protection, especially health care systems for the poor, is essential to reduce inequality. Health-related shocks, such as death or severe sickness, can affect households' budgets significantly and create serious household trauma, leading to higher possibilities of them falling into...

High-speed rail is a new mode of intercity passenger transportation. The article reviews the history of the United States' (US) HSR development and makes a comparison with peer countries' HSR development. With the rapid progress of HSR and the successful competition with cars and air travel...