Due to the lack of Purchasing Power Parities (PPPs) at regional level, regional Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures have been traditionally adjusted using national PPPs. The simplifying assumption that all regions of a country have the same cost of living, and implicitly that there are no...

Advanced economies have been witnessing a pronounced slowdown of productivity growth since the global financial crisis that is accompanied in recent years by a withdrawal from trade integration processes. We study the determinants of productivity slowdown over the past two decades in four...

Die vorliegende Studie wurde im ifo Arbeitsbereich Branchenforschung erstellt und im Frühjahr 2005 abgeschlossen. Auftraggeber war das Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Arbeit. Gegenstand der Studie sind der Stand und die Perspektiven der „New Economy“ in Deutschland sowie ein Vergleich...

This paper examines German reunification from its inception. It shows that after the rapid expansion of the early years, former East Germany entered a phase of slow growth that made it impossible to bridge the gap with West Germany. Unemployment remains high, low growth rates appear ingrained,...

This paper examines German reunification from its inception. It shows that after the rapid expansion of the early years, former East Germany entered a phase of slow growth that made it impossible to bridge the gap with West Germany. Unemployment remains high, low growth rates appear ingrained,...

In Germany, decreasing collective bargaining coverage and rising wage inequality led to the introduction of a new statutory minimum wage of € 8.50 per hour of work. We analyze the relationship between the bite of the minimum wage and employment/ unemployment growth using regional data of the...

In Germany, decreasing collective bargaining coverage and rising wage inequality led to the introduction of a new statutory minimum wage of € 8.50 per hour of work. We analyze the relationship between the bite of the minimum wage and employment/ unemployment growth using regional data of the...

The paper assesses factors of regional unemployment and spatial spillover effects in Germany. Using panel data for 407 out of 413 German regions for 2001 through 2009, we explore differences between eastern and western regions in spatial effects. We estimate static and dynamic spatial models by...

Blanchflower and Oswald (1994) reported that they have found an ‘empirical law of economics' – the Wage Curve. Our paper reconsiders the western German Wage Curve using disaggregated regional data and is based on almost one million employees drawn from the Federal Employment Services of...