A Study of Economic Activities in the Small and Medium-sized Cities with HSR Local Stations

抄録

This paper examines the impact of high-speed rail (HSR) development on economic activity in small and medium-sized cities in Japan that have local HSR stations. It also assesses the effectiveness of policies and other measures aimed at promoting settlement and industrial development in these areas. To achieve this, this paper analyzes changes in the number of business establishments and population over time and across municipalities with intermediate stations on the Tohoku Shinkansen line. Additionally, the paper categorizes and evaluate measures related to residential and business attraction, examining their relationship with the statistical trends. The municipalities are classified into two main groups: one experiencing declines in population, daytime population, number of establishments, and station ridership, and the other exhibiting growth in these indicators. The latter group is found to implement policies leveraging their HSR station, such as initiatives to attract residents and business.