High-speed rail and the spatial economy

High-speed rail (HSR) is expanding rapidly worldwide. This review identifies three defining features of HSR: its strong appeal to high-value business travelers, the presence of long-haul economies whereby costs per kilometer decline with distance, and its capacity to enable intercity commuting between cities. These characteristics lead to non-trivial implications for the spatial economy. While HSR infrastructure is costly, travel-time savings and induced economic spatial reallocation can be substantial. We review both cost–benefit analyzes and empirical evidence, and argue that general equilibrium effects are central to understanding the full economic impact of HSR.