Gunnar Myrdal an the Persistence of Germany’s Regional Inequality

This paper seeks to establish that contributions to regional theory advanced by Gunnar Myrdal exhibit high levels of explanatory power when clarifying challenges facing Germany’s eastern region since the fall oft the Berlin Wall. Myrdal’s institutionalist contribution is contrasted with the „convergence hypothesis“ advanced by R. Barro and X. Sala-i-Marin. Challenged is their prediction that Germany’s eastern region would experience relatively higher annual rates of per capita output growth, and that levels of per capita output would converge between the eastern and western regions over time. Myrdal’s approach is argued superior as it allows for considering backwash and spread effects within a framework of circular and cumulative causation, emerging between Germany’s western and eastern regions.

02. July 2009

Authors John B. Hall Udo Ludwig

Whom to contact

For Researchers

For Journalists

Mitglied der Leibniz-Gemeinschaft LogoTotal-Equality-LogoSupported by the BMWK