Throughout the literature in regional economics, most authors agree that spatially concentrated industrial activities are important for regional economic growth. Agglomeration economies, which may occur in the context of spatial concentration and “clusters“, may lead to lower costs of...

In the nineties the revitalization of the center of the city of Halle (Saale) (Saxony- Anhalt) has been delayed by accessibility problems. The author uses the data of an empirical investigation in 2004 consisting of interviews with people in the street (N = 1 492) to check if this problematic...

A growing number of governments, political parties, and enterprises set the theme „innovation“ on their agenda and join in the global race to more competitive national economies. In this race the concept of the „innovative milieu“ serves as an important point of orientation and as a...

Since 1990, the date of German reunification, urban development and especially the recovery of inner cities in East Germany has been delayed by several factors including real estate restitution claims, inflexible preservation codes for historic buildings, and the shortage of stores for...

The rising attention of politicians as well as scientists in the EU to the large urban agglomerations as centres of economic growth is accompanied by political efforts to identify and to demarcate such agglomerations under the label ‘metropolitan regions’. This study develops a theoretical...

The spatial evolution of the German solar industry is analysed in the light of the "window of locational opportunity" and the "selection environment" approach. The paper argues that differences in the regions' ability to promote the emergence of local external economies contribute to increasing...

In Germany, some cities and districts try to react to the challenges of global location competition by the constitution of metropolitan regions. Thus new forms of intermunicipal co-operation on a regional scale emerge. Within the context of a national policy for spatial development eleven such...

This article presents the results of an empirical study on spatially concentrated industries (SCI) with 'cluster' qualities in the eastern part of Germany which have emerged so far in the process of transformation. The findings reveal that SCI in East Germany which show 'cluster' qualities, i.e....

Data sets from OECD countries and especially the US indicate growing inequalities in income and thus stimulate research with respect to this topic. In this paper the basic arguments and results of several studies with an economic and a sociological background are compared and discussed. It...