Published on March 13, 2025 – Updated on March 13, 2025

Webinar: The Economics of Migration. Circular railroad: Evidence from the Parisian Petite Ceinture

Pol Cosentino
CES, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne

Abstract

This paper investigates how the construction of a circular transport system, such as the Petite Ceinture (PC), reallocates economic activity within a city. Using newly digitized data on Parisian neighbourhoods and surrounding municipalities from 1801 to 1954, I show that the PC significantly influenced the spatial distribution of firms and residents during this period. I develop and calibrate a quantitative spatial model with tradable goods and non-tradable services to structurally estimate the impact of the PC on Paris’ spatial equilibrium. I find that shutting down this circular railroad decreases the total population and rateable values, respectively by 2.9% and 2.3%, and creates a reallocation of workers and residents towards the city center. Comparing the PC with a radial metro system, I find that the latter transport design is more efficient, but combining both infrastructures simultaneously allows for additional welfare gains. Finally, long-differences shed light on the persistence effect of the PC even 50 years after its traffic decline.

Register