Exportweltmeister Deutschland – ein Sommermärchen?

The article explores whether Germany's position as the world's leading exporter is something special. We apply a standard gravity model estimating bilateral export flows of 184 countries and find that Germany's exports are positively affected by time‐invariant factors, like its geographical location, but that these factors are not exceptional compared to other OECD countries. Time‐varying parameters, like membership in international institutions, also have only limited positive effects on German exports as the positive impact of such institutions is mainly driven by other countries' willingness to participate. Taken together, Germany's current status as the world's leading exporter is not surprising given that it is a middle‐sized open high income economy that is neighbor to other open high income countries.