Geographic Integration and Firm Exports: Evidence from China,

Domestic connectivity via passenger transport infrastructure can affect a country’s exports by easing information frictions. We study this mechanism using China’s high-speed rail network, which connects cities to same-sector exporters in other cities without directly affecting freight costs. Stronger connections increase firms’ export sales and expand both destination and product scope, with no change in domestic sales, total employment, or shipping costs. The effects are largest for firms facing greater information barriers. Connected firms upgrade product quality and their export destinations converge toward those of newly connected peers, with initially weaker firms converging toward stronger connected peers while stronger firms show little adjustment. A within-firm cross-destination specification confirms that improved connectivity generates destination-specific benefits. The results point to an information-based channel through which passenger connectivity affects trade, including knowledge about export markets and inputs.