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Diversity of corporate officers and its regional disparities in Germany

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  • Iwasaki, Ichiro
  • Satogami, Mihoko

Abstract

This paper explores the regional disparities in the diversity of corporate officers in Germany. Our empirical analysis, encompassing 65,745 German businesses, reveals a pronounced inclination among Berlin and former East German firms to appoint female officers, in contrast to their former West German counterparts. Furthermore, we found that companies in Berlin exhibit greater diversity in the national backgrounds of their officers as compared to those in the former West Germany, while firms in the former East German regions lag behind in this aspect. Moreover, our empirical results indicate a greater willingness among Berlin and East German firms to hire younger corporate officers as compared to firms in the former West Germany. These findings demonstrate statistical robustness against heterogeneity in industrial sectors and firm sizes and are particularly evident in companies established after the 1990 reunification.

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  • Iwasaki, Ichiro & Satogami, Mihoko, 2025. "Diversity of corporate officers and its regional disparities in Germany," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 49(2).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecosys:v:49:y:2025:i:2:s0939362524000980
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ecosys.2024.101276
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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • D22 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Empirical Analysis
    • G34 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Mergers; Acquisitions; Restructuring; Corporate Governance
    • J44 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Professional Labor Markets and Occupations
    • L22 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Firm Organization and Market Structure
    • P34 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist Institutions and Their Transitions - - - Finance

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