Chinese Infrastructure Investment’s Impact on European Trade and Regional Development: An Analysis in Four Essays

This cumulative dissertation examines the impact of Chinese transport infrastructure investment on multiple outcome dimensions within Europe, namely local development, the environment and inter-regional trade. A key project studied is the China-Europe Railway Express, an effort to establish a land and rail based trade link between the two regions, but also Chinese presence in European port infrastructure is considered. Different quantitative-empirical approaches, including causal inference tools, spatial econometrics and the gravity model of trade, are employed to study the effects of those investments at a regional level. Throughout the dissertation, considerable evidence for a significant impact can be established. The dissertation contains a total of four empirical studies, three of which were written jointly with co-authors. One study was single-authored. Three of the studies were published in peer-reviewed journals, while the fourth study was published as a working paper.