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Abstract

Despite extensive research on the regional economic impacts of high-speed rail (HSR), evidence regarding its distributional effects remains mixed. This paper revisits this debate by leveraging high-resolution Point-of-Interest (POI) data to examine how HSR shapes urban service vibrancy in China. Using a panel dataset of 293 prefecture-level cities and their corresponding city-pairs from 2012 to 2023, we employ a difference-in-differences framework with high-dimensional fixed effects. We find that HSR significantly boosts overall city service vibrancy and reduces the vibrancy gap between connected cities, primarily driven by improved market access. Spatially, this vibrancy-enhancing effect is weaker in provincial capitals but stronger in peripheral cities located 100–200 km away. Meanwhile, the gap-reduction effect is more pronounced for distant city pairs, pairs involving a provincial capital, and those embedded in large regional economies. Industry-level analyses reveal a dual effect: HSR widens spatial gaps in sectors like dining and transportation, while fostering convergence in specialized services such as healthcare, arts, and sports. Overall, our findings suggest that HSR-led transportation improvements foster a more integrated and equitable regional economy by facilitating the dispersion of services from central hubs to peripheral areas.