The role of different transportation modes in China's national economy: An input–output analysis.

This study aims to analyse the role of different transportation modes in China's national economy and provide a reference for transportation policy. To this end, we use input–output analysis to evaluate the inter-industry linkage effect, production-inducing effect, supply shortage effect, and employment-inducing effect of five transportation modes (rail, road, water, air, and pipeline) in China from 2007 to 2020. The contributions of these different transportation modes to China's economy and their evolution are quantitatively investigated. The results reveal that the forward linkage effect of road transportation in China is the highest and shows an upward trend. The backward linkage effect of air transportation is the highest but shows a declining trend while the supply shortage effect of pipeline transportation is the highest. COVID-19 had a significant effect on transportation in 2020, with only rail and water maintaining growth in their production-inducing and supply shortage effects on the economy. Meanwhile, road, air, and pipeline transportation all showed varying degrees of decline in their contributions to the economy in 2020. Regarding employment, the employment-inducing effect multipliers of the five transportation modes are all gradually decreasing, showing that the transportation industry is shifting from a labour-intensive orientation toward a technology-intensive one. These results have significance for understanding the economic contribution and evolution of China's transportation industries. They can provide a reference for related policy formulation and for improving transportation management. • The role of different transportation modes in China's national economy are analysed. • The evolvement rules of five transportation modes' economic contribution are studied. • Policy implications are presented to formulate regulations and improve management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]