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Does Administrative Status Matter for Urban Growth? Evidence from Present and Former County Capitals in East Germany

Author

Listed:
  • Bastian Heider
  • Martin T. W. Rosenfeld
  • Albrecht Kauffmann

Abstract

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, 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.

Suggested Citation

  • Bastian Heider & Martin T. W. Rosenfeld & Albrecht Kauffmann, 2018. "Does Administrative Status Matter for Urban Growth? Evidence from Present and Former County Capitals in East Germany," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(1), pages 33-54, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:growch:v:49:y:2018:i:1:p:33-54
    DOI: 10.1111/grow.12213
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    Cited by:

    1. Xenia Frei & Felix Rösel, 2018. "Mini-Brexit in Bayern – Bringt mehr kommunale Autonomie mehr Wachstum?," ifo Dresden berichtet, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 25(04), pages 25-27, August.
    2. Katarzyna Przybyła & Maria Hełdak & Marian Kachniarz & David Ramsey & Alina Kulczyk-Dynowska & Katarzyna Szara, 2024. "The Central Functions of Cities in Poland in Light of Administrative Reform," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(18), pages 1-29, September.
    3. Yu Liu & Zhuorui Yu & Daining Liu & Hao Zhang & Long Zhou & Guoqiang Shen & Chasong Zhu & Yiheng Sun & Yanran Wang, 2022. "Triple Spatial Effects of the Administrative Hierarchy on Urban Built-Up Areas in Fujian Province, China: Heterogeneity, Radiation, and Segmentation," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-24, December.
    4. Blesse Sebastian & Rösel Felix, 2017. "Was bringen kommunale Gebietsreformen?: Kausale Evidenz zu Hoffnungen, Risiken und alternativen Instrumenten," Perspektiven der Wirtschaftspolitik, De Gruyter, vol. 18(4), pages 307-324, November.
    5. Mona Förtsch & Selina Schulze Spüntrup, 2023. "Sachsens Städte und ihre Verflechtungsräume," ifo Dresden berichtet, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 30(02), pages 08-14, April.
    6. Felix Rösel, 2021. "Leuchttürme mit langem Schatten: Frühere DDR-Bezirksstädte haben heute noch immer fast 50 000 Einwohner mehr," ifo Dresden berichtet, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 28(01), pages 10-13, February.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • H1 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government
    • H7 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations
    • P2 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist and Transition Economies
    • R1 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics
    • R5 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Regional Government Analysis

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