Suchergebnisse

AbstractMost cities in East Germany experienced drastic shrinkage between 1990 and 2014, but in recent years some have stabilized or even switched toward new growth paths, while others have been continuously declining. A descriptive analysis of subgroups of cities with diverging population growth trajectories reveals that this recent phase of "urban resurgence" accounts to a large share to the growth of the largest cities and some smaller cities in their hinterland and is strongly related to the residential preferences of families and young adults. Furthermore, the estimation of spatial regression models for the period 2004–2014 including a comprehensive set of control variables, such as agglomeration effects, initial demographic conditions, labor market characteristics, climate, and quality of life‐related factors, reveals that recent patterns of urban population development are negatively correlated to historical growth rates during times of socialism. This indicates that postsocialist urban development can be interpreted as a direct outcome of the transition process and as a backlash against the socialist past when urban development was dominated by central planning policies. However, the relevance of the individual determinants included in our regression model differs strongly with respect to the population dynamics in different age groups.

Seit der Öffnung des Eisernen Vorhangs war das ostdeutsche Städtesystem verschiedenen sich überlappenden Prozessen des institutionellen Wandels, wie dem rapiden Übergang von einer sozialistischen Plan- zur Marktwirtschaft, verschiedenen politischen und administrativen Reformen, sowie der europäischen Integration, ausgesetzt. Dies führte zu relevanten Veränderungen innerhalb der ökonomischen Hierarchie ostdeutscher Städte. Diese Dissertation hat das Ziel, die Effekte des institutionellen Wandels auf urbane Wachstumspfade mittels einer Kombination aus quantitativen und qualitativen Methoden zu identifizieren und analysieren. Die Ergebnisse sind nicht nur von empirischer Relevanz, sondern tragen auch zu einer breiten theoretischen Literatur bei, die auf ein besseres Verständnis der Treiber und raum-zeitlichen Dynamiken urbaner Wachstums- und Schrumpfungsprozesse abzielt. Des Weiteren lassen sich wichtige Implikationen für politische Maßnahmen auf lokaler und überregionaler Ebene ableiten. ; Since the rise of the Iron Curtain in 1989, the East German urban system has been influenced by several strong and overlapping forces of institutional and economic change, including the rapid transition from a socialist planning system to a market economy, numerous political and administrative reforms, and European integration. This has led to relevant changes within the hierarchy of East Germany's cities. This dissertation intends to identify and analyse the effects of institutional change on urban growth trajectories by applying a relatively heterodox set of quantitative and qualitative empirical methods. The results are not only of empirical relevance regarding East Germany's specific post-socialist context, but also contribute to a diversified body of theoretical literature aiming at a better understanding of the general drivers and spatiotemporal dynamics of urban growth and decline. Furthermore, some important implications for policymaking at the local as well as supra-regional level can be derived.

Public sector activities are often neglected in economic approaches to analyze the driving forces of urban growth and changes in urban hierarchies. One crucial aspect of public sector activities is the institutional status of cities as regional capital. The paper is reporting on a quasi natural experiment on East German county towns. Since 1990, cities in East Germany have shown remarkable differences in their population development. During the same period many towns have lost their former status as county seat due to several administrative reforms. Using a Difference-In-Difference approach we compare the population development of former county capitals to cities successfully holding a capital status over the observed period. The estimation results show a statistically significant and economically relevant positive effect of holding a county capital status on annual population change. We further observe that the difference in population developments is increasing over time. Our results are not only of empirical interest but contribute to the general literature, explaining urban hierarchies and should be considered by policymakers for future policy measures stimulating urban economic growth.

Public sector activities are often neglected in the economic approaches used to analyze the driving forces behind urban growth. The institutional status of a regional capital is a crucial aspect of public sector activities. This paper reports on a quasi-natural experiment on county towns in East Germany. Since 1990, cities in East Germany have demonstrated remarkable differences in population development. During this same period, many towns have lost their status as a county seat due to several administrative reforms. Using a difference-in-difference approach, the annual population development of former county capitals is compared to population change in towns that have successfully held on to their capital status throughout the observed period. The estimations show that maintaining county capital status has a statistically significant positive effect on annual changes in population. This effect is furthermore increasing over time after the implementation of the respective reforms.

AbstractPublic sector activities are often neglected in the economic approaches used to analyze the driving forces behind urban growth. The institutional status of a regional capital is a crucial aspect of public sector activities. This paper reports on a quasi‐natural experiment on county towns in East Germany. Since 1990, East German cities have demonstrated remarkable differences in population development. During this same period, many towns have lost their status as a county seat due to several administrative reforms. Using a difference‐in‐differences approach, we compare the annual population development of former county capitals to population change in towns that have successfully held on to their capital status throughout the observed period. The estimations show that losing county capital status has a statistically significant negative effect on annual changes in population. This effect continues to increase over time after the respective reforms have been implemented.

Public sector activities are often neglected in the economic approaches used to analyze the driving forces behind urban growth. The institutional status of a regional capital is a crucial aspect of public sector activities. This paper reports on a quasi-natural experiment on county towns in East Germany. Since 1990, cities in East Germany have demonstrated remarkable differences in population development. During this same period, many towns have lost their status as a county seat due to several administrative reforms. Using a difference-in-difference approach, the annual population development of former county capitals is compared to population change in towns that have successfully held on to their capital status throughout the observed period. The estimations show that maintaining county capital status has a statistically significant positive effect on annual changes in population. This effect is furthermore increasing over time after the implementation of the respective reforms. ; This Version: October 2016

Seit der Öffnung des Eisernen Vorhangs war das ostdeutsche Städtesystem verschiedenen sich überlappenden Prozessen des institutionellen Wandels, wie dem rapiden Übergang von einer sozialistischen Plan- zur Marktwirtschaft, verschiedenen politischen und administrativen Reformen, sowie der europäischen Integration, ausgesetzt. Dies führte zu relevanten Veränderungen innerhalb der ökonomischen Hierarchie ostdeutscher Städte. Diese Dissertation hat das Ziel, die Effekte des institutionellen Wandels auf urbane Wachstumspfade mittels einer Kombination aus quantitativen und qualitativen Methoden zu identifizieren und analysieren. Die Ergebnisse sind nicht nur von empirischer Relevanz, sondern tragen auch zu einer breiten theoretischen Literatur bei, die auf ein besseres Verständnis der Treiber und raum-zeitlichen Dynamiken urbaner Wachstums- und Schrumpfungsprozesse abzielt. Des Weiteren lassen sich wichtige Implikationen für politische Maßnahmen auf lokaler und überregionaler Ebene ableiten.

Seit der Öffnung des Eisernen Vorhangs war das ostdeutsche Städtesystem verschiedenen sich überlappenden Prozessen des institutionellen Wandels, wie dem rapiden Übergang von einer sozialistischen Plan- zur Marktwirtschaft, verschiedenen politischen und administrativen Reformen, sowie der europäischen Integration, ausgesetzt. Dies führte zu relevanten Veränderungen innerhalb der ökonomischen Hierarchie ostdeutscher Städte. Diese Dissertation hat das Ziel, die Effekte des institutionellen Wandels auf urbane Wachstumspfade mittels einer Kombination aus quantitativen und qualitativen Methoden zu identifizieren und analysieren. Die Ergebnisse sind nicht nur von empirischer Relevanz, sondern tragen auch zu einer breiten theoretischen Literatur bei, die auf ein besseres Verständnis der Treiber und raum-zeitlichen Dynamiken urbaner Wachstums- und Schrumpfungsprozesse abzielt. Des Weiteren lassen sich wichtige Implikationen für politische Maßnahmen auf lokaler und überregionaler Ebene ableiten.