Growth Clubs and Regional Economic Convergence in Germany
Oliver Holtemöller, Christoph Schult, Anna Solms
IWH Discussion Papers,
No. 4,
2026
Abstract
Many countries and regions remain below the level of economic activity of the world’s most advanced economies. Some countries form growth clubs, some are stuck in the middle-income trap, and some stay on a very low level of economic activity. Although this situation is well documented on the country level, there is less evidence at the sub-national level within countries. We estimate county-level capital stocks and price indices and provide a comprehensive county-level data set for Germany. We find no evidence of convergence across all counties even if we condition on important drivers of long-term growth such as physical and human capital accumulation. Instead, we identify five convergence clubs, using endogenous clustering. We analyze differences in growth paths and describe the identified clusters based on variations in contributions of capital, labor, and total factor productivity to economic growth. Additionally, we examine the role of migration for regional development and find that net migration has in particular contributed to growth in richer regions.
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InvKG-Datenbank
InvKG-Datenbank des BMWE: Fördermaßnahmen im Kohleausstieg Mit dem Investitionsgesetz Kohleregionen (InvKG) stellt die Bundesregierung bis 2038 massive Strukturhilfen bereit, um…
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Research Data Centre
Research Data Centre (IWH-RDC) Direct link to our Data Offer The IWH Research Data Centre offers external researchers access to microdata and micro-aggregated data sets that…
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Robot Hubs and the Use of Robotics in US Manufacturing Establishments
Erik Brynjolfsson, Catherine Buffington, Nathan Goldschlag, J. Frank Li, Javier Miranda, Robert Seamans
American Economic Association Papers and Proceedings,
Vol. 115 (May),
2025
Abstract
We use data from the Annual Survey of Manufactures to study the characteristics and geographic distribution of investments in robots across US manufacturing establishments. Robotics adoption and robot intensity (the number of robots per employee) cluster in "robot hubs." Establishments that report having robotics are larger and have a larger production worker share, lower pay per worker, lower labor share, and higher capital expenditures, including higher IT capital expenditures. Notably, establishments are more likely to have robots if other establishments in the same core-based statistical area and industry also report having robotics, suggestive of agglomeration and peer effects.
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Research Clusters
Three Research Clusters Each IWH research group is assigned to a topic-oriented research cluster. The clusters are not separate organisational units, but rather bundle the…
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Research Departments
Research Departments Research at IWH is organised in a matrix. As the primary organisational units, the research departments have been established on a medium to long-term basis.…
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Organisation of Research
Tasks of the IWH Guided by its mission statement , the IWH places the understanding of the determinants of long term growth processes at the centre of the research agenda. Long…
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East Germany
The Nasty Gap 30 years after unification: Why East Germany is still 20% poorer than the West Dossier In a nutshell The East German economic convergence process is hardly…
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CompNet-EBRD Workshop
Localization and Productivity CompNet-EBRD Workshop, October 8-9, 2018, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, London, United Kingdom The workshop of The…
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Guiding Theme and Research Profile
Tasks of the IWH Guided by its mission statement , the IWH places the understanding of the determinants of long term growth processes at the centre of the research agenda. Long…
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