Railways and Price Convergence in British India
研究了1861至1920年间英属印度谷物市场价格趋同现象，发现铁路仅能解释约20%的价格差异下降，表明铁路作用有限，且存在边境效应。
The period 1861 to 1920 witnessed sharp price convergence in British Indian grain markets. Previous research attributed this to the construction of railways. But tests examining price differences between districts provide surprisingly weak support for that hypothesis. Railways mattered, but seem capable of explaining only about 20 percent of the decline in price dispersion. One explanation may be that India was a partially integrated economy at the time of railroad expansion. Lines connecting districts on preexisting trade routes had very small price effects. There is also some evidence of a “border effect” on lines between British India and princely states.