Unterschiede regionaler Wirtschaftskraft – welchen Einfluss hat die Landespolitik?

Different regional economic theories come to different conclusions with regard to the impact of (state) policies on the economic prosperity of regions. This article provides empirical evidence, that determinants like geography, urbanization, industrial mix and social capital explain 71 percent of the variation in GDP per worker among West German regions. All these factors have in common that they cannot, at least in the short run, be influenced by state policies. Determinants like infrastructure and human capital that could be influenced by state policies only explain another 8 percent. These empirical results do not only constrain the significance of those ranking studies currently in vogue, which assume a noteworthy responsibility of states for their own economic situation. These results are also of importance for the political discussion on the reform of German intergovernmental fiscal relations. Copyright Springer-Verlag 2009