Researcher Wangyang Lai's collaborative paper was published in the Journal of Urban Economics

Release date：2025/02/18　　Source： CCAP

Recently, Researcher Wangyang Lai's collaborative paper titled 'Long-distance water infrastructure, rural development, and urban growth: Evidence from China' (co-authors: Cui Xiaomeng from Jinan University and Lin Tao from Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics) was published in the top-tier journal Journal of Urban Economics.

Water resources are unevenly distributed across regions, and the extent to which long-distance water transportation can alleviate this imbalance is still under further study. This paper uses the South-to-North Water Diversion Project as a case study to explore the impacts of long-distance water infrastructure on water resources, rural development, and urban growth. The research finds that the project increased water supply and agricultural output in the water-receiving areas, while reducing agricultural output and increasing non-agricultural output in the water-sending areas. These differential effects created heterogeneous impacts on the labor market and rural welfare, which in turn produced varying effects on urban growth in surrounding cities. Cities in the water-receiving areas expanded gradually, with more economic activity in the surrounding areas, while in the water-sending areas, the city itself became more active, but the surrounding economic activity decreased. Due to differences in project design and geographic environments, the impacts of the two water diversion routes (Eastern and Central) also show heterogeneity.

Citation: Xiaomeng Cui, Wangyang Lai, and Tao Lin, 2025. Long-distance water infrastructure, rural development, and urban growth: Evidence from China. Journal of Urban Economics.

Paper Link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jue.2025.103736