The Spatial Impacts of a Massive Rail Disinvestment Program: The Beeching Axe

Stephen Gibbons; Stephan Heblich; Ted Pinchbeck

The Spatial Impacts of a Massive Rail Disinvestment Program: The Beeching Axe

Stephen Gibbons, Stephan Heblich, Ted Pinchbeck

Social Sciences

Research output: Working paper/Preprint › Working paper

113 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

This paper investigates the reversibility of the effects of transport infrastructure investments, based on a programme that removed much of the rail network in Britain during the mid-20th Century. We find that a 10% loss in rail access between 1950 and 1980 caused a persistent 3% decline in local population relative to unaffected areas, implying that the 1 in 5 places most exposed to the cuts saw 24 percentage points less population growth than the 1 in 5 places that were least exposed. The cuts reduced local jobs and shares of skilled workers and young people.

Original language	English
Publisher	Centre for Economic Performance
Publication status	Published - Aug 2018

Publication series

Name	CEP discussion papers
Publisher	Centre for Economic Performance
No.	1563
ISSN (Electronic)	2042-2695

Keywords

rail
infrastructure
Beeching

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Access to Document

http://cep.lse.ac.uk/pubs/download/dp1563.pdfLicence: None: All rights reserved

Cite this

@techreport{1164ec22f21346cd9b7b13cacb103e04,

title = "The Spatial Impacts of a Massive Rail Disinvestment Program: The Beeching Axe",

abstract = "This paper investigates the reversibility of the effects of transport infrastructure investments, based on a programme that removed much of the rail network in Britain during the mid-20th Century. We find that a 10% loss in rail access between 1950 and 1980 caused a persistent 3% decline in local population relative to unaffected areas, implying that the 1 in 5 places most exposed to the cuts saw 24 percentage points less population growth than the 1 in 5 places that were least exposed. The cuts reduced local jobs and shares of skilled workers and young people.",

keywords = "rail, infrastructure, Beeching",

author = "Stephen Gibbons and Stephan Heblich and Ted Pinchbeck",

year = "2018",

month = aug,

language = "English",

series = "CEP discussion papers",

publisher = "Centre for Economic Performance",

number = "1563",

address = "United Kingdom",

type = "WorkingPaper",

institution = "Centre for Economic Performance",

}

TY - UNPB

T1 - The Spatial Impacts of a Massive Rail Disinvestment Program

T2 - The Beeching Axe

AU - Gibbons, Stephen

AU - Heblich, Stephan

AU - Pinchbeck, Ted

PY - 2018/8

Y1 - 2018/8

N2 - This paper investigates the reversibility of the effects of transport infrastructure investments, based on a programme that removed much of the rail network in Britain during the mid-20th Century. We find that a 10% loss in rail access between 1950 and 1980 caused a persistent 3% decline in local population relative to unaffected areas, implying that the 1 in 5 places most exposed to the cuts saw 24 percentage points less population growth than the 1 in 5 places that were least exposed. The cuts reduced local jobs and shares of skilled workers and young people.

AB - This paper investigates the reversibility of the effects of transport infrastructure investments, based on a programme that removed much of the rail network in Britain during the mid-20th Century. We find that a 10% loss in rail access between 1950 and 1980 caused a persistent 3% decline in local population relative to unaffected areas, implying that the 1 in 5 places most exposed to the cuts saw 24 percentage points less population growth than the 1 in 5 places that were least exposed. The cuts reduced local jobs and shares of skilled workers and young people.

KW - rail

KW - infrastructure

KW - Beeching

M3 - Working paper

T3 - CEP discussion papers

BT - The Spatial Impacts of a Massive Rail Disinvestment Program

PB - Centre for Economic Performance

ER -

The Spatial Impacts of a Massive Rail Disinvestment Program: The Beeching Axe

Abstract

Publication series

Keywords

UN SDGs

Access to Document

Fingerprint

Cite this