This paper shows that 19th-century industrialization is an important determinant of the significant changes in Germany's economic geography observed in recent decades. Using novel data on economic activity in 163 labor market regions in West Germany, we establish that nearly half of them...

This paper shows that 19th-century industrialization is an important determinant of the significant changes in Germany’s economic geography observed in recent decades. Using novel data on economic activity in 163 labor market regions in West Germany, we establish that nearly half of them...

Bis heute weisen die westdeutschen Bundesländer persistente Unterschiede in ihrem Lebensstandard und ihrer Produktivität auf. Die Arbeit untersucht, ob es im Zeitraum von 1950 bis 1990 zu einer Konvergenz der Einkommens- und Produktivitätsniveaus zwischen den westdeutschen Bundesländern...

For the impartial observer of German regions, differences in regional industrial structures and prosperity are quite obvious. On the one hand, there are regions characterised by different industries, firm structures and labour qualification profiles. On the other hand, some of these regions are...